Columbus Police did that shit to my car when I lived there. Reported it stolen said I had an extra set of wheels and to notify me when they found it and I'd go put the wheels on it so it could be towed. Never got a call and it was drug on its brakes onto a rollback causing more damage.
Sometimes I think the Police force is run by idiots, how hard can it be to input the tag into the system and see it was reported stolen or see where the people live so that they could be notified.