This exact thing happened to me, but nobody accused me of theft. I simply was pulled over for going through a toll booth without a tag (first time on the road and I had no idea).

I got pulled over, put in handcuffs, put in the back of the police car and detained for almost an hour while they verified the car was mine.

All because I didn't have registration papers in my car. I mean who keeps that shit in their car? We have registration stickers where I live.

Moreover, like 5 cop cars show up, they towed my car to a parking lot where I sat in the back of the police car the whole time. Handcuffed in public like some kind of criminal.

They asked me if they could search the vehicle and I said no. So then they asked if I was refusing because I had illegal stuff in the car.. To that I responded, no, its because you guys make a mess when you search cars and nobody ever cleans it up the mess, so I respectfully decline.

Eventually they let me go, no apology, nothing. They said they were just doing their job, but nobody in this state carries around registration papers because we don't legally have to.

At the end of the day there was nothing I could do about it legally because they said the police were within their authority.

Police just suck. Period. Not all of them, but the majority of them. The ones that don't suck don't do anything about the rest of them that do, they just turn their heads.