I don't fully understand the law, but I think you have the legal obligation to report what you saw to the police. You just posted hard evidence of a crime, and you claim that you witnessed the crime taking place. I understand why you don't want to get involved, but the police can use this as obstruction of justice, if you fail to report. You got to be careful on social media, when you claim to be a witness. The police could ask, why didn't talk to them first?
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Interesting. I wasn't really aware of that. I'll do some research. Thanks for letting me know :)
Well I don't blame you for not wanting to get involved. You could get forced to testify as a witness in small claims court. It's very unlikely, but you got to understand the cops perspective. They think, here's a guy trying to make a buck on social media, but didn't take 5 minutes to talk to us. Personally I would make a phone call, and tell them everything you saw. At least it could help the defendant get money for her car, and a restraining order, if the person is unstable.
It probably has to do with some breakup. A girl can get hostile, when another girl takes her man. Maybe she stole something from her as well. There's a small risk is you report it, but you might feel good about it. I think it's the right thing to do.
Well for one the guy whose car it was technically saw it happen too and I’m pretty sure he called the police. I don’t think I would have much to add. Plus I’m pretty sure they were arresting the people involved as I was leaving. The mall also has security cameras.
I did look it up btw and it is not required by law to report what I saw. There are certain cases where it is (like child abuse) but the type of crime in this scenario is not one of those types.
I totally respect your decisions to stay out of it. In this day and age, you can never be too careful. I was in a slightly similar situation, and the police wanted to talk to me, because I thought I was helping a friend. They asked me for details, but I politly requested to refrain from giving certain details.
The cop told me I was obstructing justice, and I said I would like to help you, but I don't want my friends ex not getting a job for the next 5 years, because of a criminal record. I told the cop, I've seen a good friend of mine struggle with employment in his field, because of one mistake. The cop looked at me, and said you're a person with integrity, don't worry about my request.
If I were asked any info from a cop, I would have provided everything I knew. I think that is a slightly different situation though than needing to volunteer it without them asking.