# Help me decide if I should call the police or not. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 16, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649 "2011-06-16T02:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/1 "2011-06-16T02:18:46Z")
I don’t know if this was nothing or something. I was walking home from work and became aware of a car driving slowly behind me by about 5 feet. I couldn’t really hear it because I was walking on a very busy street. It didn’t worry me because there was so much traffic around and I didn’t even look behind me at first. After about 30 seconds with the car still slowly following I looked behind me which made the guy driving, lean way forward and really get a good look at me, so then I stopped and looked at him. He then drove off quite quickly, put on his turn signal and turned right at the next corner, drove down about 20 feet and then stopped. As I approached the corner, which is the road I turn left at and head up that road to home, I watched him, got his license and headed on my way, occasionally looking back to make sure he wasn’t following me again. I didn’t see him again after that. I’m sure it’s nothing and just a weird coincidence but I just wanted some other peoples opinions. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/2 "2011-06-16T02:22:57Z")
He might have thought you were someone he knew? I don’t know. It’s pretty creepy. I don’t really think you should call the police at this point but might as well write down his license plate number so you don’t forget it (in case you haven’t already). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/3 "2011-06-16T02:28:37Z")
Police are always receptive of this type of information. Sometimes it’s stuff like this that breaks cases. You’ll never be disregarded by volunteering this kind of “gut feel” information. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/4 "2011-06-16T02:29:37Z")
I wrote down the license. Yeah he could have mistaken me for someone. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/5 "2011-06-16T02:38:54Z")
Sounds creepy. I wonder why he pulled over and stopped after he turned down the street… I thought from the thread title this was going to be about the Stanley Cup game. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/6 "2011-06-16T02:41:57Z")
If it’s the first report they have on that car what are they going to do? Probably nothing, and that’s OK. If it’s the second or third or fourth, at some point they’ll take notice and check it out. But they’ll never notice if no one ever reports him. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/7 "2011-06-16T02:44:13Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Sounds creepy. I wonder why he pulled over and stopped after he turned down the street.. > > **I thought from the thread title this was going to be about the Stanley Cup game**. No, I have accepted the inevitable. Besides, all the rioting and looting will be in Vancouver 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/8 "2011-06-16T02:47:29Z")
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to call the police if you’re that bothered, but from the way he said he looked you over before leaving, I assume he thought you might be someone he knew, or wondered if you might be someone he could have illegal monetary transactions with (you know, he was looking to score drugs or for a “date”), and decided you were not who he was looking for in any case. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/9 "2011-06-16T02:56:45Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I guess it wouldn’t hurt to call the police if you’re that bothered, but from the way he said he looked you over before leaving, I assume he thought you might be someone he knew, or wondered if you might be someone he could have illegal monetary transactions with (you know, he was looking to score drugs or for a “date”), and decided you were not who he was looking for in any case. Walking home in my track suit, with my backpack and green lunch bag, he would definitely _not_ mistake me for a hooker or drug dealer. 🙂 However I did think “Uh oh, mistaken identity. He’s going to get out and shoot me and I’m going to be in the news”. I also thought “No you can’t shoot me, the game is on tonight!”. ---
**Author:** ![inkling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkling)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/10 "2011-06-16T04:20:13Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Walking home in my track suit, […] he would definitely _not_ mistake me for a hooker. But you _were_ a streetwalker. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/11 "2011-06-16T05:36:33Z")
My first thought, he was lost and looking at street signs. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/12 "2011-06-16T06:07:11Z")
The only way you could have found out if he was up to anything was to hop into his car and now you’ve lost that opportunity! ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/13 "2011-06-16T23:07:16Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > The only way you could have found out if he was up to anything was to hop into his car and now you’ve lost that opportunity! Well he did have a cast on his arm and was trying to lift a heavy chair into his car. The least I could have done is offered to help! ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-if-i-should-call-the-police-or-not/585649/14 "2011-06-16T23:17:58Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Well he did have a cast on his arm and was trying to lift a heavy chair into his car. The least I could have done is offered to help! That made me lol.