---
title: "VPD officers drew guns on a man driving his own car after it showed as stolen in police records"
description: "Vancouver Police pulled over a registered vehicle owner near 33rd Avenue and Victoria Drive after his car still appeared as stolen because he had not reported recovering it."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/vpd-guns-drawn-stolen-car-owner-october-30"
last_updated: "2026-10-30T21:56:38.274Z"
---

Vancouver Police officers drew their firearms on a man near 33rd Avenue and Victoria Drive on Thursday after his car showed as stolen in police records. The driver was the registered owner of the vehicle, Constable Megan Lui of the VPD confirmed to CityNews Vancouver.

Officers were on patrol in the area when they noticed a car with one front tire sitting at an unusual angle. They ran the licence plate. The database showed the vehicle as a stolen car. Officers initiated a traffic stop. During the stop, the car struck another vehicle. Officers drew their firearms at some point in the encounter.

The man behind the wheel turned out to be the registered owner. He had recovered the car after a previous theft but had never reported the recovery to police. The database still showed the vehicle as stolen because no one had updated the record.

Nobody was injured.

## Why the record still showed the car as stolen

When a vehicle is reported stolen, police enter it into a shared database. If the owner gets the car back and does not tell police, that entry stays in place. Any officer who runs the plate will see a stolen vehicle.

VPD spokesperson Constable Lui confirmed that this is what happened in Thursday's stop. The man had his own car back in his possession but had not made a call to clear the record.

## What Vancouver residents should do

VPD says vehicle owners should report to police when they recover a stolen car. One call or an in-person visit to a VPD district office removes the vehicle from the stolen-car record.

A car that still appears as stolen in the database can result in a traffic stop, and officers who believe they are approaching a stolen vehicle may take precautions including drawing firearms. Thursday's stop ended without anyone being hurt, but the situation shows why updating the record matters.

If your vehicle was stolen and you got it back, call the VPD non-emergency line at 604-717-3321 or visit a district office to report the recovery.

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