Chances are quite a few of you are/were Spongebob Squarepants fans. So you've likely seen the episode where Spongebob and Patrick "steal" a balloon and feel so guilty about it that they turn themselves in to the police - only to find out it was free balloon day and they turned themselves in for doing something perfectly legal.
That doesn't happen in the real world, though... right?
Reddit user Lockii asked:
Yeah it turns out it does actually happen - and the circumstances around it aren't always as funny as the free balloon day episode. In fact, they can sometimes be quite sad.
Burned Bridges
Had a drunk guy that burned his bridges with the temporary homeless shelter. Went to the hospital and got discharged and had no where to go. He kept telling me to take him to jail, but I didn't have a crime so I couldn't.
He got so pissed off because I had no other way to help him that he charged my coworker and wouldn't leave the property. I finally took him in for trespassing and assault.
Almost
I wasn't thrilled when I got a call from a grandmother saying that she almost, ALMOST left the oven on when going to Walmart for Christmas shopping. I politely told her that if no illegal trouble or acts were done then it was completely ok, She replied along the lines of "But it could've been very fatal, I should be arrested." I once again told her everything was alright and greeted her off.
Warrant Check
I once was in the office when someone came to the window and said he thought he had a warrant. We looked into it and found out that yes, he had a municipal warrant.
We went out and informed him that yes he had a warrant and we would take him in to custody. As we went to handcuff him he started to fight with us, with all of us ending on the ground. I was pretty baffled as to the whole situation.
Yes officer, I'd like to know if I need to be arrested but please don't arrest me if I do
Taking Pics
Giphy
Had someone come to the front desk to "confess" that they had taken pics of a few kids on the bus, and got the stink eye from the kids' mom. Person was afraid Mom would call it in first and she'd be arrested for...something.
Pic taker was an elderly lady who liked the kids' shirts and wanted to buy some for her own Grandkids but knew she wouldn't remember what the shirts looked like. Karen was having none of grandma's explanation though.
A Non-Existent Cigarette
Somewhere there's a great video of two teenagers who took Datura (a legal plant that causes hallucinations) and ended up turning themselves in to the police station because they were tripping too hard and couldn't handle it.
The cops put them in their own room and monitored them with cameras.
They passed a non-existent cigarette back and forth for like an hour.
Dude... This Is Amsterdam
Dutch police here. I once stopped a couple of American tourists for some small traffic violation. Like most times with tourists I just wanted to explain the situation and send them off. However these guys were really nervous and sketchy. One guy kept looking like he was about to run and started sweating. When I was calling some info in I saw them whispering and trying to secretly pass something between each other behind their back from the corner of my eye. My first thought was that they were trying to hide some weapon or whatever. The way how they did it spooked me for some reason. So I quickly pushed them against the car and the situation went grim and serious fast.
But turned out he was trying to hide one joint. And I looked at him and was like... "dude... this is Amsterdam... are you stupid?"
- RCL_D
Imagined Enemies
My buddy was a paranoid schizophrenic and walked into a police station then demanded to be arrested in order to protect himself from his imagined enemies.
That's Tom
Sometimes when I was in college my friends and I would go walk around downtown. It was nearing Thanksgiving time and my friend Chris and I were walking past a Hotel that had a nice bar in it and decided to stop for a drink. As we passed the side of the building to get to the entrance where the bar is there was a man full on passed out in the bushes.
Chris and I both looked at each other and I know we thought the same thing because we both told each other "That guys dead!" We then walked into the Hotel where a local police officer was there for some other reason and we let him know about the guy in the bushes.
The police officer just sighed and said, "Yeah. That's Tom. He does this because he's homeless and wants us to take him to jail or the hospital so he'll have somewhere warm to sleep."
Red Light
Giphy
Had a lady come into the lobby crying her eyes out because she thought she had ran a red light. Asked her if she actually did or not and she couldn't remember. She then proceeded to stick her hands out so I could cuff her. I had to explain. We don't arrest people for red light violations and even if she had she would've only gotten a ticket.
ER Security
I got arrested for reckless endangerment when I was 18. Went to court and worked something out where I chilled with the arresting officer at the hospital from 10p to like 3 a for 4 Friday nights. He had security for the ER during those times.
Homeless man came in and started saying his wife was there. He'd leave and come back proclaiming the same thing but couldn't answer any questions. Finally the cop was like, "Are you just looking for somewhere to sleep? Want be to just take you to jail? "
It was January. Homeless guy said yes. So they left.
