Reported Stolen Vehicle Results In Police Swarm To Investigate

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — A car rental agency that chose to list one of its very overdue vehicles as stolen instead of pursuing it as a civil matter caused several Manhattan Beach Police officers in cars, SUVs and an unmarked vehicle to prepare to deal with the unknown as officers pulled the car over on Rosecrans Avenue. The incident occurred around 12:35 p.m. Thursday, August 13.

The female driver with three children in the car was handcuffed at one point but released when the car rental firm did not want to press charges, said Public Information Officer Chris Ineguez, who was at the scene. Ineguez told Manhattan Beach Patch that the car rental company did want the car, however.

"They [car rental companies] put everybody in the situation at risk," said Ineguez. "Unfortunately, when they report a car as stolen, we don't know what we will encounter." He said some rental companies are better than others and don't report rental cars as stolen when payments have been missed.

A man who said he was the woman's husband and the kids' dad showed up at the scene of the potential arrest to provide details and assist his family. He left his truck parked on Pacific Avenue near Rosecrans because police had the northbound lanes of Rosecrans closed from Pacific Avenue. When returning to his truck, he told MB Patch he had rented the vehicle from Avis and missed payments.