Having your car stolen is a horrible, violating thing (we know from experience) but finding it again can be elating. That is, unless you run into problems like a Kansas City man did when he was driving and happened to spot his stolen Jeep Trackhawk in the next lane. The thieves even kept his plates on it.
Guy spots his buddy’s stolen Silverado, then this happens.
Where things took a wrong turn was when the man called police and asked for them to come and help him get his ride back. Instead of officers being dispatched to the area and the suspect driver getting taken into custody, the victim was treated with infuriating scrutiny.
The dispatcher he spoke with wouldn’t do anything until the victim supplied the case number, he told Fox4. The guy had to scroll through his text messages, while driving, to find that information, because apparently the dispatcher just couldn’t be bothered to look it up using his name.
It took a while to find the case number, so in the meantime the suspect driver and a passenger noticed the victim following them and they dropped the hammer, getting away.
Maybe police could’ve caught the suspects without destroying the high-performance Grand Cherokee – we’ll never find out. The vehicle could be gone by now, the suspects taking it to a chop shop or sneaking it across the country since they know the owner’s looking for it.
In other words, the actions of that dispatcher might have cost the guy his Jeep forever. Like the victim points out, the case number could’ve been found after police caught the suspects. Why was it so critical to have before dispatching police? Could it be Kansas City, like so many other big cities, is awash in car thefts and overwhelmed with calls like this?
From what we know, there’s a good chance that’s exactly what’s going on. Of course, a KCPD sergeant interviewed on camera wasn’t going to say that. Instead, he said he can understand why the situation is “frustrating.” Try absolutely outrageous or infuriating.
We’ve also experienced police dispatchers and officers acting like you’re up to something when you call to report something. We get it: there are dishonest people who try using cops as a club to punish anyone they don’t like.
But this car theft trend is only going to continue when police can’t or won’t clamp down on thieves and recover vehicles when they’re sitting in plain sight. Also, it’s worth noting in the fall of 2023 the mayor of Kansas City actively fought a mandate voters passed requiring the city to spend a quarter of its budget on the police department after funding was slashed a few years before and crime soared.
Image via Fox4 News Kansas City/YouTube