Urgent.News

What's breaking now, across thousands of outlets.

World

Bad Flock Info Leads Police To Tow Wrong Car, Then Towing Company Totals It

"Police continue to blindly trust Flock cameras above and beyond the evidence in front of their own eyes," reports Jalopnik.com. "After incorrectly connecting Rosalyn Crump's car to a shooting that had occurred the previous day, police had her car towed and impounded as evidence, reports Moneywise..." According to WWBT 12 On Your Side, Richmond, Virginia, police didn't have a license plate number…

Police mistakenly believed Rosalyn Crump's car was linked to a shooting and had it towed, despite visual evidence contradicting the claim. Richmond police lacked a license plate number for the suspect's car, forcing them to rely solely on Flock cameras' vague descriptions of the vehicle's make, model, color, and approximate year.

Using this information, police focused on Crump's 2012 Hyundai Elantra. Upon discovering the error, the officers confronted Crump, who had been asleep when they arrived. Despite her protests, they refused to believe her and called in Seibert's Towing to impound the car. Seibert's later admitted to damaging the car's front bumper during the towing process, but claimed they were unaware of the extent of the damage.

The total cost for repairs, including a new bumper, fog lights, and wheel liners, reached $6,000. Further inspection revealed additional damage, pushing the bill beyond $6,000. Seibert's insurer and Crump agreed that the vehicle was now a total loss. The city of Richmond has now decided not to renew its agreement with Flock, citing similar instances of police errors caused by mistaken identity linked to license plate readers.

Written by urgent.news from Slashdot's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

Read the original at yro.slashdot.org →

More in World

More from Monday 2 November →