‘Time to sue’: California man surrounded by police after his U-Haul rental was allegedly reported stolen

A California man driving a U-Haul truck was stopped by police after the vehicle was reported stolen. Footage of the incident showing the driver being confronted by police who appear to have had guns pointed at him was shared on TikTok and has since gone viral, with some viewers suggesting the man sue U-Haul.

The videos were posted to the man’s account, “@myselfedx,” in multiple parts. The first part was recorded by a man standing nearby and showed another man, presumably called Eli, as the man recording is heard calling his name, being arrested by cops. Eli is seen standing in the street, with his hands in the air, next to the U-Haul van as police yell commands at him.

The video caption claimed that the van had been reported as stolen. In a second video, Eli can be seen walking backwards towards one police officer before being told to get on his knees. Two cops are then seen moving in to place cuffs on him. Later, Eli was seen being put in the back of a cop car. He claimed that he tried to tell the officers that the paperwork for the vehicle was “in the front.” However, he claimed the officer didn’t care.

According to Eli, the U-Haul van had been reported as stolen, which he said was why he had been confronted by the police. In a fourth video, he recorded himself standing in the street as he showed police officers and several police cars nearby. The caption read: “POV: you rented a U-Haul that was reported stolen and almost got shot.”

U-Haul policies regarding stolen vehicles

On the U-Haul website, the policies regarding stolen vans instruct customers to contact the local authorities and file a stolen report. U-Haul also requires the “Jurisdiction name and phone number, report number, officer’s name and badge number” from the customer, which can be submitted via the website.

It is unclear whether the company itself filed the report, or if it was previously reported as stolen by another customer. U-Haul has not yet commented on the situation; however, some viewers blamed the company and advised Eli to go to court over the matter.

One commenter wrote that the police should not have received blame for the incident, while others deemed it an “excessive” reaction from police. In the first video, three police cars were already seen at the scene. In a later video, there appeared to be at least five. 

Auto theft is classed as a felony according to criminal.laws.com. When an officer out on patrol spots a stolen vehicle, they will typically engage in pursuit.

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