How did he get arrested. Couldn’t he have just showed the contract to the police? (In before the “cops were busy shooting the dog” comment, in 3 ... 2 ...)
Cops were probably doing rock, paper, scissors to make the bust. Surprised they didn’t tazer him....and his dog
He was arrested because the dealership swore to an arrest warrant for a stolen vehicle. It is not the job of the officers to determine the validity of a piece of paper but only to serve the warrant.
Say all you want about out of control cops, but in this case, they were doing exactly what their job spelled out, legally and ethically.
I would wager that this dealership was allowed to keep their Chevrolet franchise because of politics and that in itself leads to far bigger questions of those who survived the the GM bailout and rapes of the investors. It was the local people who lost their jobs and the GM and Chrysler Bond Holders who lost everything in that payoff to the unions, not to mention the non-union workers for Delphi.
At that point it doesn't matter. The cops don't do legal decisions. Once the warrant goes out, that is what they execute.
I wondered about that as well. But, apparently he didn't get the opportunity. The article said he was "arrested in his front yard".
Under those circumstances, I presume that the guy said: I have a signed contract, they simply claim they undercharged me and want more money. The cops should have stepped back at that point and given him the opportunity to clear up the issue. But, I guess that independent thought isn't a requirement for them.
If nothing else, the judge should have dismissed the charges immediately. But, my guess is that everyone is going to claim they were just following orders.....
“how did he get arrested. Couldn’t he have just showed the contract to the police?”
No. They were serving an arrest warrant. In this case they do not try and determine if the law was broken. A judge has issued the warrant. They are following the judges orders and do not have discretion on arresting or not arresting the individual.
The game is over for the dealership! I like that.