A man says he was pulled over and put into handcuffs after buying a Dodge from a previous owner who may have had a shady past.

In a video with over 3 million views, TikTok user Sammy (@topmansammy) explains that he recently bought a used Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. According to Sammy, the deal concluded just 20 minutes before they started recording.

As the video progresses, he and his passenger get pulled over by police. Soon, they understand that this is not a normal police stop.

“Why are there so many cops coming?” one of them asks.

A few minutes later, a police officer is yelling at them.

“Driver, step out!” the officer yells. “Open the door from the outside and get out now!”

Eventually, the pair are made to get out of the car and walk backwards toward the officer with their hands up. Once they get there, they are handcuffed. 

“I just purchased a vehicle. I have the title and everything. Just got notarized,” the TikToker insists. 

Eventually, the pair figure out why the police have stopped them. According to the officer, “someone in the car has a warrant for homicide.”

This was, obviously, not true. Once the police officer realizes this fact, he lets the pair go, warning them that they may be pulled over again.

How Does A Used Car Buyer Get Confused For A Criminal?

There are a few ways that this could have happened.

The most likely series of events is that someone in the ownership chain—possibly the previous owner—was wanted on a serious warrant. Even after the sale, the vehicle or its license plate may have still been associated with that person.

From there, a police officer may have spotted the car. Alternatively, an officer’s license plate reader could have signaled that the car was on a “hot list.”

Even though ownership had already changed hands, it may have been too soon for the new ownership to be recognized by the state. Consequently, the officer may have believed that someone in the car was wanted in connection with a homicide—and that the occupants were thus armed and dangerous.

After the police apprehended the occupants and went through their information, they were able to determine that they were not the wanted person. Finally, they were free to go, released with a warning that this could happen again given the information that was still attached to the car.

Gallery: 1969 Dodge Charger Hellcat Restomod By Ringbrothers

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Is This Common?

One might think that car identification—especially with license plates—is a fairly exact science.

However, this isn’t actually true. Police officers and their equipment repeatedly misidentify cars, passengers, and even license plates. This can occasionally have disastrous consequences.

For example, Flock security systems have been rolled out across the country. While these purport to be able to identify cars, their license plates, and a host of other information, a police department in Roseville, California, found that 71% of stolen vehicle or felony-related alerts from their system from 2023 to 2024 were actually the result of misread plates. Flock claims that Roseville had an unusual camera configuration that contributed to these results.

Despite these systems’ tendency to get things wrong, police officers often rely on them, ignoring other information that may show them something is amiss. For example, a San Francisco woman was pulled out of her car at gunpoint after a license plate reader mistook a digit on her plate. If the police had verified the information, they would have noticed the wanted vehicle was a gray GMC truck; the woman pulled from her car was driving a burgundy Lexus.

'The Police Officer And Drivers Handled This Beautifully'

Even though the situation must have been frightening for the driver and his passenger, many in the comments section say that they handled the situation well.

“All completely legal. They stopped the car for suspicion in a homicide. Detained them till they gained further proof they aren’t the individuals that committed the crime,” noted a user.

“Followed orders immediately. Communicated clearly. Respectfully asked officer questions,” noted another. “Good job bois, happy it was just a misunderstanding, and congrats on the hellcat.”

“Everyone did EVERYTHING right in this situation! And in the end, they walked away. The title and registration had not been Transferred yet and the warrant was probably for the prior owner,” speculated a third. “So glad to finally see a video where instructions are followed, procedures are followed and everyone makes it home safe after the confusion is cleared up.”

Motor1 reached out to Sammy via TikTok direct message and comment. We will update this story if he responds.