"micky" wrote in message
...
OT Should I tell the police?

About three or four weeks ago, I saw a sticker on the rear window of a
car parked in my n'hood, the parking lot of a townhouse n'hood, saying
it would be towed away because it had a flat tire. No deadline was
given. The HOA does this, aiui, only if someone has complained. Of
course we have more than our share** of petty people who would complain.

**Unless there are so many petty people in the world that we have no
more than our share.

So I pumped his tire up.

Today I pumped it up again, which means the leak is slow.

The car is in excellent condition, has no dents or scratches, the paint
is perfect, it's not dirty, and looks very nice. Valid plates. I
assume someone went on vacation and will start driving it again when he
gets back.

OTOH, most people don't take three week vacations and conceivably, the
car was stolen and left here, parked properly with the door locked.
(well, I haven't tried the door. I just assume it's locked) If it's
stolen, the real owner should get it back before he buys another car.

So I called the police and just wanted them to run the plate, and if
they said it was stolen, I'd tell them where they or the owner can come
and get it.

But the cop wants me to tell him where it is, so they can "roll by and
look at it", and he says they won't do anything if there isn't a
problem.

What problem could there be except that the owner reported it stolen?**
If they tell me that I'll believe them and I'll tell them where it is.
But if it's not stolen, I DON'T WANT TO CAUSE TROUBLE FOR THE OWNER, and
the police, for all the good they do, are also very good at causing
trouble. After all, I'm the one pumping up the tire so it won't be
towed away.

**One idea, it could have the wrong plates on it, but we could probably
verify that on the phone too. The DMV records show the make. Do they
also show the model and color? I think so. If the plates don't match
the make or model or color, then too I would tell them where the car is.

Would you tell the police where it is before they told you it was stolen
or misplated?

reading all the responses, I will toss in mine:

1. try again with the police. Maybe go to the station with the license
plate written down. I have had it go both ways "we can't tell you - where
is the car?" and a smirk, eyes rolling directed at the "smarty pants
citizen", run the plate, and then "yes, it is stolen - where is it?". If
they won't just run it, tell them where it is and let them investigate.

2. If you can, see if the police will at least tell you if the registered
address is in your HOA, so you can try to locate the owner and prevent it
being towed by the HOA. I have had a cop in a cruiser tell me the
registered address so I could walk across the street and tell them to move
their car or it will be towed. Of course, this was right there, and the cop
told me the address once he realized what the deal was - I was dong this guy
a favor.

3. Does your HOA not keep a list of license numbers and HOA owners? Many
do. Do any neighbors know who the car belongs to? Are their assigned
parking spaces?

4. If you can determine the car is not stolen, belongs to an HOA owner, and
you can locate him (or the police can do a welfare check), and you realize
he is simply out of town, tell the HOA to give the guy and his car a break.
If they seem belligerent as most HOAs are, keep filling up the tire, or
forget about it - your choice.


I concur with the thoughts to let the police do their job. The car could be
stolen, or it could belong to a lady who has fallen and can't get up. Try
to eliminate these types of possibilities first.