How could this have happened?

My ex bought my son a car. I wasn't that happy about it because I believe they will respect it more if they earn it. I didn't say much because their dad, while pays support (not much) doesn't really do much with them. Doesn't attend most sporting events..etc. and doesn't offer any additional help, which is fine because my husband treats them like his own and they never want for anything. Anyway, the car kept breaking down and eventually, nobody could afford to keep fixing it. So my son wanted to sell it and use it for a down payment on another vehicle and my hubby was going to co-sign the loan for him. His father demanded the car back. It was in my name for insurance purposes and while I thought that was crappy I wanted to keep the peace so I signed it back over. Fast forward 3 months. My son has a nice truck he makes the payments for and all is well. Except his dad gave the car to his step-son who wrecked it. When the cops arrived, they used the old registration to write the ticket.

The boys mom arrived and told them that that was the wrong one, but the cop didn't change the info. I recieved a letter from the other guys insurance saying I'd be responsible for the damages. I think not. It took me two whole days to straighten it out. I was livid at the cop.

Anyway, it worked out in the end, but how could that cop have ignored the boys mom and used the old registration anyway? Would that be illegal for him to do, especially if she told him it was wrong? I'm just curious as to how you would handle the situation.

I think it's your responsibility to remove registration sticker and license plates when you are turning the car over, then go to DMV and cancel the registration and turn in the plates. If you didn't do that, the car is still registered in your name...

If you did turn in the plates, but left the sticker... Well, don't blame the cop. How does he know if they were telling the truth? You have to understand, that a lot of people give cops all kind of stories to avert a fine or other kind of responsibility. He looks at the windshield, and he sees the registration sticker. So he puts down the info from it. That's his only objective way of doing his job. He can't take a word for anything....

Had you removed the sticker - if the car went without one, then the cop would've written down the VIN number and looked up registration, plus ticketed the person in possession for not displaying registration OR for operating vehicle without registration, if there was none...

From a lawyer. There's nothing you can do about the cops. It's really your fault for not changing the title. Sorry for the bad experience. Let it go so that it stops driving you crazy.