7 ms·

Hertz faces lawsuit from 47 customers claiming false arrests

66 points by onemoresoop 4y ago

pavlov 4y ago
To me, this is the most American dystopia: an indifferent corporation feeding false data to the state violence machine because everyone in the chain can afford false positives that wreck somebody’s life.
- SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
  Yep, and the people most affected are the ones who can't withstand this sort of event. An example given in the article was people renting cars to work rideshare gig jobs, after rent and fuel they will be making so little money (an income which stops completely once they are arrested) that even a few days in jail can be enough to make them short of rent, lose their house, CPS takes their kids away, etc. Heartbreaking that Hertz's incompetence at setting or following processes can have such cold, real world results.
paulpauper 4y ago
They should have just pretended to be antifa but in seriousness, this is false arrest. the police department is as much to blame.
- colburnmh 4y ago
  No, the police bear no responsibility for someone issue a false report. That's a crime for a reason. If you report your car stolen, the police don't first investigate you to be sure you are telling the truth, they just work to find the car. The police do, however, bear responsibility for not allowing those arrested to have access to medication, maintain their jails to appropriate health standards, or prevent assaults--all of which were also reported in the article. Further, if a person is constantly falsely reporting their car stolen, they should be arrested for filing a false report. But in this case, there is no central authority that would be in a position to track that because there is no centralized control of the police and these all probably happened in different police districts. Mistakes do happen, but this sounds like a pattern of egregious behavior that is likely (and rightly if the facts in the article stand up) going to result in large fines, mandated oversight, legal restraint, and removal of a number of people at Hertz. It's not like any of that is going to be helpful to a company that is struggling to stay alive.
  - sebastien_b 4y ago
    >It's not like any of that is going to be helpful to a company that is struggling to stay alive. I’d say it’s reason enough for it to justifiably go under (though still wish top brass of the company be liable).
sebastien_b 4y ago
This is like SWATting yourself.
- more_corn 4y ago
  Not yourself
  - effingwewt 4y ago
    OP is saying that the act of renting a car from hertz is akin to swatting yourself. We really need jail time for CEOs
14u2c 4y ago
Interesting to see that people are renting cars just to drive them for Uber and Lyft.
- prepend 4y ago
  Seems like a good idea. You can rent a car for $50 and easily make more than that in a day.
valleyer 4y ago
> One plaintiff, Bianca DeLoach, described being swarmed by police with their guns drawn at a gas station in March 2021 while her children watched from inside the rental she’d paid for. > When he opened the door at least 4 officers had guns pointed at him. > Darnay Taper spent two nights in jail last year after being pulled over in March 2021 by eight police cars while during a Hertz rental and held at gunpoint, according to the complaint. Why are guns such a reflex for cops in scenarios that clearly do not warrant them? Can't we find some better cops?
- metadat 4y ago
  Historically they haven't suffered much negative consequences when they shoot and kill suspects. And they have no personal liability.
- sebastien_b 4y ago
  >Can't we find some better cops? I feel like cops in the U.S. are just bitter Army rejects that didn’t make the cut due to their overly unhinged behaviour.
  - Clubber 4y ago
    They're trained to be afraid by watching videos of cops getting shot, then they're trained to react instinctively at a perceived threat.
    - birdyrooster 4y ago
      Overzealous and primed for violence
    - sebastien_b 4y ago
      So, trained killing machines.
    - beepbeepcabbage 4y ago
      so we give a bunch of paranoid scaredy boys guns and authority - nothing bad will happen I bet
curmudgeon22 4y ago
That's pretty ridiculous. I wonder if this happens to any extent with other rental companies. Googling didn't turn up anything but the Hertz stories and the articles I skimmed didn't mention it.
- phendrenad2 4y ago
  It's enough that I've decided to never rent a car from a large rental company again. Other rental companies should be loudly decrying Hertz, but they're not, making me think that they have similarly buggy automated systems.
puffoflogic 4y ago
Oh boy, courts are gonna have to get out their big wrist-slapper for this one! /s
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

66 points by onemoresoop 4y ago

To me, this is the most American dystopia: an indifferent corporation feeding false data to the state violence machine because everyone in the chain can afford false positives that wreck somebody’s life.

SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
Yep, and the people most affected are the ones who can't withstand this sort of event. An example given in the article was people renting cars to work rideshare gig jobs, after rent and fuel they will be making so little money (an income which stops completely once they are arrested) that even a few days in jail can be enough to make them short of rent, lose their house, CPS takes their kids away, etc. Heartbreaking that Hertz's incompetence at setting or following processes can have such cold, real world results.

paulpauper 4y ago

They should have just pretended to be antifa but in seriousness, this is false arrest. the police department is as much to blame.

colburnmh 4y ago
No, the police bear no responsibility for someone issue a false report. That's a crime for a reason. If you report your car stolen, the police don't first investigate you to be sure you are telling the truth, they just work to find the car. The police do, however, bear responsibility for not allowing those arrested to have access to medication, maintain their jails to appropriate health standards, or prevent assaults--all of which were also reported in the article. Further, if a person is constantly falsely reporting their car stolen, they should be arrested for filing a false report. But in this case, there is no central authority that would be in a position to track that because there is no centralized control of the police and these all probably happened in different police districts. Mistakes do happen, but this sounds like a pattern of egregious behavior that is likely (and rightly if the facts in the article stand up) going to result in large fines, mandated oversight, legal restraint, and removal of a number of people at Hertz. It's not like any of that is going to be helpful to a company that is struggling to stay alive.
- sebastien_b 4y ago
  >It's not like any of that is going to be helpful to a company that is struggling to stay alive. I’d say it’s reason enough for it to justifiably go under (though still wish top brass of the company be liable).

sebastien_b 4y ago

This is like SWATting yourself.

more_corn 4y ago
Not yourself
- effingwewt 4y ago
  OP is saying that the act of renting a car from hertz is akin to swatting yourself. We really need jail time for CEOs

14u2c 4y ago

Interesting to see that people are renting cars just to drive them for Uber and Lyft.

prepend 4y ago
Seems like a good idea. You can rent a car for $50 and easily make more than that in a day.

valleyer 4y ago

> One plaintiff, Bianca DeLoach, described being swarmed by police with their guns drawn at a gas station in March 2021 while her children watched from inside the rental she’d paid for. > When he opened the door at least 4 officers had guns pointed at him. > Darnay Taper spent two nights in jail last year after being pulled over in March 2021 by eight police cars while during a Hertz rental and held at gunpoint, according to the complaint. Why are guns such a reflex for cops in scenarios that clearly do not warrant them? Can't we find some better cops?

metadat 4y ago
Historically they haven't suffered much negative consequences when they shoot and kill suspects. And they have no personal liability.
sebastien_b 4y ago
>Can't we find some better cops? I feel like cops in the U.S. are just bitter Army rejects that didn’t make the cut due to their overly unhinged behaviour.
- Clubber 4y ago
  They're trained to be afraid by watching videos of cops getting shot, then they're trained to react instinctively at a perceived threat.
  - birdyrooster 4y ago
    Overzealous and primed for violence
  - sebastien_b 4y ago
    So, trained killing machines.
  - beepbeepcabbage 4y ago
    so we give a bunch of paranoid scaredy boys guns and authority - nothing bad will happen I bet

curmudgeon22 4y ago

That's pretty ridiculous. I wonder if this happens to any extent with other rental companies. Googling didn't turn up anything but the Hertz stories and the articles I skimmed didn't mention it.

phendrenad2 4y ago
It's enough that I've decided to never rent a car from a large rental company again. Other rental companies should be loudly decrying Hertz, but they're not, making me think that they have similarly buggy automated systems.

puffoflogic 4y ago

Oh boy, courts are gonna have to get out their big wrist-slapper for this one! /s

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]