Why did it cost Rick Naughton, a Philadelphia high-school teacher, $1,400 and verbal abuse from police to recover his stolen car? As Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky tells it, the 32-year-old made the mistake of filing a stolen-vehicle report after the car was recovered–a no-no in Philadelphia.
Along the way (which included a visit to court), Naughton complained that police officers in Philadelphia’s 6th District “are so rude, so condescending, so outright mean, no one should have to put up with this.” With Bykofsky’s help, he met with the district captain and a lieutenant there and was satisfied. “Why did Naughton have to be tortured and abused” to get his stolen-vehicle report, finally, Bykofsky asks.