First a personal experience that was similar to the driver's, and then what
I think should have gone-down/happened ...
I drove an Electric Vehicle (EV) for over 15 years, way back before there
was public EV charging (EVSE). I always asked permission, and offered to
paid sometimes up to ten times the amount of power I was using (people has
no idea nor believed how really cheap it is).
I had established verbal permission to plug in at a spot at a shopping mall,
which I only did once a month to attend a nearby eaaev.org chapter meeting.
When I got back after the meeting, my EV was gone. The mall security rats
would not tell me anything, and told me to ask the police. The police had
been played by a new crew of inexperienced female security vendors (it was a
time when some females felt they could do anything without really
understanding what their job was = they were unqualified to be security, and
made an unnecessary effort over-prove themselves, rather than like today,
where women and men both know, to do their job, they each have to have the
'training and knowledge' to do their jobs (whether they be male or female).
Instead of contacting the mall manager, security called the police, and told
them I was stealing mall property. The local police showed up and without
thinking things through, just hauled my EV away.
At the police station in preparation to be jailed, I had to be finger
printed, a report written up, and my cheap little extension cord confiscated
as 'evidence' (something not worth more than $2).
The ignorant police officer acted like I had stolen hundreds of dollars of
mall property (he had already made up his mind like a high school bully, now
a cop playing judge, jury and hangman, that I was a serious criminal).
I told him I had verbal permission from the mall manager, that meant nothing
to him if it was not in writing. After I carefully worded an explanation (so
the the policeman could grasp what I was saying) that I had only used $0.15
worth of power (pg&e rates at the time for a huge mall complex were
$0.10pkWh, I was drawing 5A for two hours), he paused in thought ...
The officer then said the first wise thing since our meeting: "Well, the
district attorney won't prosecute for $0.15." I looked at him expressionless
(so as to not raise his ire, -that he had been played the fool by over
zealous rent-a-cops-). "OK, I'll tell who to pay to get your car back, but
we have to keep the evidence" (he said like losing my power cord was some
big punishment).
In total it cost me $500 that day to get my EV back from the impound lot.
Bottom line / conclusion: never plug-in unless you have written permission
you can show the police or better yet, only use today's public EVSE.
As for the idiot security, it would have been a wiser act to unplug my EV,
and leave a note stating the violation was recorded and the Mall manager
would be notified of the illegal (in their mind) act.
I am a nice enough guy to have gone to security, explained, 'and' apologized
to them if my stating that I had a verbal agreement with the mall manager,
did not satisfy them.
In those early years, it would have done more harm to the EV-cause to leave
a bad taste in anyone's mouth about EVs (eating crap so the non-EV-driving
public are not angry, was something I was willing to do so that more EVs
could get on the road. And I have eaten plenty over the last two decades for
the EV-cause).
...
In the news story's case, the driver did not make the extra effort I always
made. And like the doofus-security had called the police, it is likely
someone at the school had called the police.
IMO I believe the police acted in a 'too-heavy-handed-way', as they could
have just unplugged the driver and left a note that they would be contacting
them later. When they did, the police would document the misbehavior, and
have the school press charges if they wanted to pursue it. Then the burden
of being over zealous would be on the school's administration, and not the
police.
I have great respect for our police officers. Over 95% of all that I have
deal with really have their act together. Some were wise enough to see
beyond the law to know its actual intent on public behavior. If the act of
leaving a note (causing the driver to fret), then coming over their house
(causing public / neighborhood embarrassment) was not enough to make the
driver accept that what he did was wrong and state that they would not do it
again, then convey that to the person who called it in, and let them pursue
it.
Its likely the driver would have agreed to not do it again. After all, the
driver now had a public record of mooching, and if they did it again, the
judge would not be lenient.
{brucedp.150m.com}
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