Several vehicles from the Austin Police Department arrived on campus Tuesday to arrest a student for driving a stolen vehicle.

But there was one problem: the vehicle that the female student was driving was her own.

The student was spotted at the intersection of South Congress Avenue and Live Oak Street and was pulled over by six APD vehicles near Mang House, APD reported. Three University Police Department vehicles also arrived on the scene, according to Chief Rudolph Rendon.

The student’s father had reported the car as stolen, but it was later recovered. The father neglected to notify police, who still had the car reported as stolen in their electronic database.

“Whenever a car is stolen, it is put into a state database,” Rendon said. “If used properly, the system is a great tool, but if it is not used properly, and it is not reported properly that a vehicle has been recovered, then it turns out to be a bad deal.”

The student was initially arrested, but was released on the scene once her identity was confirmed, Rendon said.

Rendon said he feels sorry for the driver because he has been the arresting officer in cases like where people have been pulled over for driving their own cars in the past.

“The officer has no choice but to treat it as a felony stop,” Rendon said.

Rendon said that he hoped that the ado about nothing would serve as a lesson for students to follow up with police, as well as to show that police capabilities are technologically advanced.

 

 

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