Most people who live in California have witnessed in some form wildfires in various areas of their state. These events are no longer contained to remote or rural areas and sadly leave too many people without their homes and belongings. In 2018, the state has experienced its most deadly and destructive fires in history. One of these fires even ravaged through the relatively wealthy community of Malibu in the southern portion of the state.
As is normal after a fire like the Woolsey Fire, residents of the area who had evacuated at some point start coming back to see what may be left of their homes and their neighborhoods. Police are commonly around during these times to help protect people and prevent unwanted activity like looting. However, it may well seem to some that local police in the Malibu area may not have used their best discretion recently.
As reported by Newsday, one woman who was attempting to get through into her neighborhood to view her home was not only denied entry but actively told she might be arrested. The issue seemed to center around the fact that the address listed on her driver’s license did not match the address of her home. It is not uncommon for people to move and not have updated a driver’s license. Some people even have multiple homes so not all homes will match the identification address.
The lack of a matching address, however, seemed to be an inappropriate reason for a police officer to accuse the woman of only wanting to go into the area to loot the burned homes.