It’s one thing to call the police. It’s quite another to have them call you — and then send a selfie to prove it’s really them.
A California woman visiting Seattle left her purse behind after using a ride-hailing service in the Capitol Hill neighborhood early Sunday morning. When she contacted the driver and offered to pay him an additional fare to return, he refused and demanded more money according to SPD Blotter, the Seattle Police Department’s crime news blog.
SPD Officer Eric Michl was working the neighborhood as part of the department’s DUI traffic squad around 2 a.m. Sunday morning when the woman approached him seeking help. She said she was flying home later that day and needed her wallet and ID.
According to the Blotter report, Michl called the driver but only reached his voicemail. He then sent a text message and informed the man “he could potentially be arrested and have his car impounded if he didn’t return the woman’s purse.”
Michl wanted to make sure the driver didn’t dismiss that text as a prank, so he sent along a selfie to prove he was who he claimed to be.
That did the trick, because the driver quickly called Michl back, claiming he was busy with other fares. He returned to the scene with the purse.
