Don't plug in or you'll get arrested!

[philipscoggins]

http://www.11alive.com/news/article...-charged-with-stealing-5-cents-worth-of-juice

I try to ask first....

 

[RegGuheert]

My first thought was the same one found in the first comment: Do they arrest people for plugging their cell phones into school outlets without first asking permission? Of course that is a different scale of theft, but the police officers were clear: the amount does not matter to them.

I have mixed feelings over this issue. I don't want people to charge their cars at my home without permission anymore than I want them to take fuel from my tank. And I really don't understand why the LEAF owner felt it was O.K. to plug in. But taking him into custody seems rather extreme to me.

BTW, it is interesting that they quoted Don Francis: He is one of our advisory board members!

 

[UBUYGAS]

That's crazy, But I wouldn't just plug my car in anyplace.

The real question is how did the cop realize he was stealing power?

Did somebody call the police?

Or did the cop drive by and say "Hey! that guy is up to no good!"

 

[philipscoggins]

I have heard people complain about people stealing electricity to charge their cell phones.

Of course my opinion of those people...

 

[Stoaty]

How ridiculous! The cop could have handled the situation very simply--ask the Leaf owner if he had permission to charge, if not ask him to stop and give him a verbal warning that it was illegal. Situation handled, case closed. Would have saved the taxpayers a lot of money (sending officers to arrest him and keeping him in jail???) and educated the Leaf owner.

 

[UBUYGAS]

If he only stole 5 cents of electricity then how long was he connected? I charge at around 75 cents an hour. So he was plugged In for 7 mins?

 

[LeftieBiker]

I've asked for permission to recharge my two-wheeled EVs at gas stations, convenience stores, etc. The answer is always "NO." I was refused at a state park that uses GEMs. Actually, they said "yes" while they thought I meant a mobility scooter, then changed their answer when I explained it was a street scooter. So it wasn't an absolute "no", just a "No to EVs." Once I paid $5 to recharge at a yard sale. There is a real distaste for EVs in the US.

 

[Nubo]

Failure to use gasoline marks you as a bit of a subversive in our car culture. During one of my first public charging sessions an elderly lady became quite angry when she learned it was temporarily free. There are always folks who feel they must energetically protect the dominant paradigm.

 

[pchilds]

If the outlet wasn't for public use it would be locked or shut off. Is drinking water, out of the school water foutain a crime? Anyone can use the outlet, anyone can use the water foutain. Try calling the police on someone taking a nickle, you left on the sidewalk in front of your house, heck make it a $20, no one is getting arrested.

 

[JimSouCal]

It's not April and I guess it's not a joke. Aim low America, or like the Diesel clothing line ad exhorted, "be stupid". I watched the video and at least the "criminal" whole stole 5 cents worth had a good attitude about it with the on camera video.

Pure speculation: his crime may have been "contempt of cop" which can get you in far more trouble, that, and coupled with his name and the watching of certain TV networks that may influence the police for with their attitudes. All speculation, but not unrealistic.

 

[planet4ever]

If he only stole 5 cents of electricity then how long was he connected? I charge at around 75 cents an hour. So he was plugged In for 7 mins?

At 120v the LEAF can only pull 1.44 kW. Are you saying you pay 52¢/kWh?

Ray

 

[UBUYGAS]

I pay 10.5¢/kWh

If he only stole 5 cents of electricity then how long was he connected? I charge at around 75 cents an hour. So he was plugged In for 7 mins?

At 120v the LEAF can only pull 1.44 kW. Are you saying you pay 52¢/kWh?

Ray

 

[planet4ever]

If he only stole 5 cents of electricity then how long was he connected? I charge at around 75 cents an hour. So he was plugged In for 7 mins?

At 120v the LEAF can only pull 1.44 kW. Are you saying you pay 52¢/kWh?

I pay 10.5¢/kWh

5¢ / (10.5¢/kWh) = 0.48 kWh
(0.48 kHw) / (1.44 kW) = 0.33 hours
If the school was paying 10.5¢/kWh then he was connected for 20 minutes.

My point was that you wouldn't be paying anywhere close to 75¢/hour if you were charging at 120v.

By the way, for anyone who ever gets confused with calculations like this, try leaving off the numbers at first and just "calculating" with the units.
¢ / (¢/kWh) = ¢ x (kWh/¢) = ¢kWh/¢ = kWh
(kWh) / (kW) = h[ours]

Ray

 

[apvbguy]

How ridiculous! The cop could have handled the situation very simply--ask the Leaf owner if he had permission to charge, if not ask him to stop and give him a verbal warning that it was illegal. Situation handled, case closed. Would have saved the taxpayers a lot of money (sending officers to arrest him and keeping him in jail???) and educated the Leaf owner.

best response

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Next to my town's ball fields is our DPW. They have a gas pump for town vehicles. If I took my ICE and just took a little gas, just a couple drops, is that OK?

People plugging in wherever they want, whenever they want, is bad for our image.

He probably didn't even need to, and he shouldn't have.

 

[jpa2825]

Would it have been better if he had a laminated card printed to display on the dash that said the following:

"I tried to locate someone to request permission to plug into this outlet and was unable to. If you are the person I need to speak to, or know how to reach them, please call me at XXX.XXX.XXXX." Certainly puts you in a more sympathetic position if the administrator / cop calls you.

I wanted to see a follow up where someone (driver, reporter, cop, etc.) asked the Principal / School Board if it was OK for him to do so in the future. If I am requesting, I give them the "supporting alternative fuels" argument AND I am potentially saving the school $ by not having an ICE vehicle on their parking lot which could easily leak oil, gas, other fluids which are then deposited in the stormwater runoff when it rains.

 

[ksnogas2112]

As a former police officer here's my 2 cents...I certainly would not have written a 'theft' notice UNLESS the property owner was the one who filed the complaint or a citizen prompted the police response in the first place. I also would not have taken him to jail and forced a bond of the issue. In this case it would certainly have been reasonable to issue the arrest and a signature bond on site. Unless he was being uncooperative at the time then the gloves come off and you get everything possible to be charged and ticketed.

There is no car out there that can't be ticketed for something if the officer is persistent enough. Technically my Leaf can be ticketed under the local noise ordinance due to its lack of exhaust system.

Unfortunately officers will go above what people think is 'normal' if they were called to investigate an issue. The reason behind this...the public. The last thing an officer wants is some shmuck complaining to the department that he called the police and they did nothing. Even though officers have a wide range of discretion, that goes out the window when protecting one's own backside from an internal affairs investigation because a citizen filed a complaint. Once a ridiculous arrest comes to light the more likely it is that the letter of the law will be discussed as the 'reason' for the arrest.

Should he have been arrested based on the information provided, no. Are there things about the case we don't know, yes. Where is the proper place for this to be aired, the courts.

Bottom line for charging in public, always ask and when in doubt, don't do it.

 

[Elephanthead]

Just another line on my list of reasons to never go to Georgia.

 

[RegGuheert]

Just another line on my list of reasons to never go to Georgia.

Here's another: "Deliverance" was filmed in GA!

Don't tell Don I said that!

 

[EVDRIVER]

Bottom line is if you take power without asking you are stealing and you can expect the possibility of some consequences that may or may not seem reasonable. In the early days of this forum there were plenty of people here that seem to think that taking power from a public space is not stealing, I guess anything can be justified in ones head. Asking is always an option and more and more EV drivers will certainly get into situations where they make EV drivers in general look like entitled idiots. We already see this at dealerships. There are also possible ramifications of doing this, what if someone had a refrigerator at a business that happened to be on the same line as an outside outlet and the EV driver tripped this and all the food went bad because of lack of power? There are many possibilities and usually many options for people to ask.