Falsely Accused: I Was Arrested for a Crime I Did Not Commit

I've done some pretty crazy things in my life, but never anything too illegal; the thought of being arrested always terrified me. My father has a criminal record and has been in and out of jail numerous times, so the last thing I wanted was to end up like him.

Luckily, I had no chance of ever being arrested...or so I thought. Keep reading to hear my story about being falsely accused and arrested.

After being terribly sick for 2 months, I found out I was pregnant with my 2nd child. Relieved that I wasn't dying, I headed to Oberweis for a delicious mint chocolate chip waffle cone. I had recently purchased a new car, and had a rental that needed to be returned. My plan was to return the rental, have my daughter's grandma drive me back to my car (she lives down the street from the car rental place), and then go straight to my daughter's school to pick her up.

I considered just putting my keys in the drop-box outside, but decided I wanted to know my balance for the rental. Because I wasn't feeling well, I had kept the car for a little over a month (which I communicated with the rental company - they said it was fine). When I called to request my balance, I was told that balances were not given until vehicles were returned (as a result of charging for gas and mileage). That seemed fair enough, so I went inside to inquire about my balance.

As I returned the keys, I asked for a receipt and a printout of my balance; I didn't want to find an unexpetedly large bill in my mailbox a week later. The customer service rep informed me that there was a problem with my account, and stated that she was unable to find my bill. I told her that I had to pick up my daughter from school, but could swing back by and grab the bill that evening. Insisting that it would only take a moment, she convinced me to stay and suggested I wait outside while she called her supervisor for help.

As I was sitting outside, I noticed 6 police cars in the parking lot. Wow, I thought to myself, somebody must be in some major trouble. The rental place was in a suburban area, so even 2 police cars would have been out of the ordinary. I assumed that somebody was getting robbed or something equally scary, so I headed back inside to check on the progress of my bill.

The customer service rep informed me that she needed a "special password" for my bill, and that the manager was looking for it. I thought that was a little weird, but whatever; who am I to question the procedures of a company I'm not employed by?  I went back outside, and was immediately approached by an officer.

"I have a few questions for you", the officer said, whipping out his notepad. Still assuming that a local business had just been robbed, I asked if I could make a quick phone call to my daughter's grandma, who was waiting in her car for me. The officer became angry, and said, "NO! Don't walk away from me!".

At this point, I still didn't think anything was out of the ordinary. I had very little experience with police, and figured his attitude was normal for an officer or that he was just having a bad day. I sat down next to him on the curb, and began answering his questions.

The questions were basic: name, date of birth, address, and phone number, as well as what brought me to the rental place on this day. I explained that I was in a rental agreement with the company, and needed to return my vehicle today to avoid racking up a bunch of late charges. I told him how I had been sick a lot lately, causing me to request an extension on my rental.

The officer asked if I had proof of my illness, which I thought was a bit weird; however, I continued to answer his questions. Yes, I had proof, and yes, I could show it to him if needed (I had both a note from the local hospital, as well as a doctor's note confirming my pregnancy). The officer declined my offer, and informed me that I was under arrest.

"Huh? Why am I under arrest?!" I asked, thinking he was joking at first. "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, YOU CAR THIEF!" he yelled, slapping the handcuffs on me. I cried hysterically as my daughter's grandma ran out of her car and asked what they were doing. Bawling, I said, "I have no idea!", and asked if she could pick up my daughter and call my paralegal friend.

As cars stopped to stare and employees ran outside of their businesses, I was shoved into the back of the patrol car. The entire ride to the police station, I kept asking why I was being arrested. The officers kept laughing, saying that I knew exactly what I did wrong.

When I arrived at the station, I was uncuffed, fingerprinted, and screamed at. The booking officer was surprised to find that I had no criminal arrest record, but said that there's a first time for everyone. He asked me why I did what I did.

Still confused, I attempted to explain that I had no idea "what I did", and asked if he could tell me. The other officer chimed in with, "This one's a real piece of work, and a complete liar". Another officer walked up and told me that they "shoot car thieves around here".

I began bawling again, and nobody answered my question about what I supposedly did. All I was able to figure out was that somebody thought I stole a car, because the officers kept pointing and yelling "There's the car thief!" at me.

My bawling prompted the officers to ask if I was suicidal. Through my tears, I explained that I was just upset because nobody would tell me what I supposedly did. I told them that they must have picked up the wrong girl, and the officer said, "Yeah, they all say that".

I sat on the bench, hands cuffed behind my back, until the only female officer on staff arrived. She pushed me against a dirty wall as all the inmates cheered and clapped, slapping on a pair of dirty black gloves. Being strip-searched when I was 8 weeks pregnant while random inmates screamed at me was beyond humiliating, and I felt disgusting and dirty; I couldn't wait to get home and shower.

But it wasn't time to go home yet. The officer took me to my own cell and informed me that I was going to be picked up by an officer from another city that I had never heard of. I asked where the city was located, and she said, "You already know".

Sitting in my cell, I cried for what seemed like years, although it was only 4 hours. I tried calling everybody I knew from the phone embedded in the paint-chipped wall, but nobody would accept collect calls. The floor was dirty, and I had a cracked mattress about as thick as my palm. I was thirsty and nauseous, but the drinking fountain was attached to the toilet. I decided I'd rather pass out from dehydration.

After being isolated in a small cell for 4 hours, the officers handcuffed me again and led me outside. "Your ride is here", they said, leading me to a new patrol car. The new officers put me in the backseat, and we drove 45 minutes away to a small city I had never heard of.

During the drive, one of the officers asked why I stole a car. "Why does everybody keep asking me that?!" I said, crying again. "You're the one who stole it, so you tell me", he responded, laughing. "But I didn't steal a car! I don't understand why you people keep saying I did!".

After insisting for a few more minutes that I had no idea why I was being arrested, the officer finally turned around and explained, through the divider, that the rental car company had reported my car as stolen. "Officer, if I stole the car, why would I personally drive up there and return it?".

When we arrived at the police station, I was fingerprinted and photographed again. They were a bit nicer after our talk in the car, and let me keep the handcuffs off as long as I promised to stay seated on the bench. The jail was completely empty; apparently crime was not common in this small town.

After the paperwork was completed, the officer on duty (who was different than the officer who brought me to the police station) asked if I needed to use the phone to call a ride. I was confused, and asked if I was leaving. He looked at me like I was crazy, and said, "Yes, you're leaving...your record shows a failure to return rental property, which isn't anything that calls for jail time. You just need to show up for court and explain your case to the judge".

Dumbfounded, I asked why I was arrested and brought here in the first place if all I needed was a court date. The officer shrugged, and said he was wondering the same thing. I told him about how the officers in the first city arrested me and insisted that I was a car thief; he laughed and said I never should have been arrested at all. Apparently all they needed to do was issue a summons.

I called my daughter's grandma and asked if she could come pick me up (I was too embarrassed to call anybody else).  She rushed to the police station, and I filled her in on the events of the evening.  She asked why I was falsely arrested and dragged through hell over a crime I didn't commit when all I needed was a simple court summons; I told her that her guess was as good as mine.

Grandma had told my daughter that I was working late, so we stopped by to pick her up from where her aunt was watching her.  I hugged her repeatedly and told her how much I loved her; the thought of not seeing her (because I had no clue how long I would remain wrongfully imprisoned) had been unbearable.  I then immediately called my boyfriend, who was scared that I had purposely ignored him all day as a result of being upset about our unplanned pregnancy. 

As a result of my wrongful arrest, I became incredibly paranoid. Each morning, I would wake up at 3am and have an anxiety attack. This continued until 4 months after the event.

I cried for days, and obsessively worried about my court date: What if they arrested me again? What if something went wrong? If it happened once, it could happen again.

Even now, every time I drive by a police car, my breath catches in my chest, and I panic for a moment.

I had to get a lawyer, and I still owe him money. I also had to pay almost $300 in fines and court costs...all for a crime that I was wrongfully convicted of.  I plan on becoming a teacher one day, so a criminal arrest record is the last thing I need.

If you have a rental agreement, make sure you get any changes in writing. Then again, maybe that won't help; when I called the car rental company (the day after being released from jail), they told me they had no record of me violating my rental agreement. I informed them that I was arrested for not returning the car on time and accused of stealing it. They replied that they were not sure how that could have happened, because my account showed no wrongdoing on my end.

I continued to call daily for almost a month, and spoke to multiple managers; each one was unable to find anything saying that I returned the car late or that a warrant was issued reporting it stolen. To this day, I still don't understand what went wrong or why I was arrested.