Sheena and Cole Burie were visiting San Diego in January 2023 on a family trip when Oceanside police officers stopped them, pulled their guns, and handcuffed the couple.
They describe it as a traumatizing experience that they’re still dealing with to this day, all because of a mistake by a car rental company.
Cole and Sheena Burie under arrest by the Oceanside Police Department.
“We couldn’t even look at each other,” Sheena told NBC 7. “We couldn’t move at all. I remember whispering that I love you.”
The minivan rental they were in had been reported as stolen.
Another shot of the arrest in Oceanside.
After the couple was handcuffed and searched, officers looked through the minivan to find the rental contract the couple said should be there, but the officers were unable to find it.
Sheena Burie handcuffed by Oceanside Police officers.
Sheena said that the whole time, she was thinking about her daughter, whom they had just dropped off at a shopping mall with a friend.
“That was my huge fear: I just dropped off my kid, I’m thousands of miles away from home. What is going to happen?” Sheena said she asked herself.
About a half-hour later, police were able to confirm the Buries were not in a stolen vehicle and released them from custody.
According to a police report, dispatch was able to contact Payless Car Rental and confirm the vehicle was no longer stolen. The report said the company never contacted police to remove the van from law enforcement’s stolen-vehicle system.
NBC 7 Responds reached out to Payless Car Rental. In a statement, it said:
“Payless and its independent franchises each have safeguards in place to prevent unnecessary notifications to retrieve rental vehicles. Unfortunately, these protocols in this isolated incident failed. Our franchisee has apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Burie and refunded them for the rental.”
Payless also pointed out that if the Buries had the rental agreement with them at the time they were pulled over, they could have cleared everything up quickly.
In 2023, Oceanside Police did not respond NBC 7 regarding the incident, but in a statement sent to NBC News Now they said “the officers involved in this case met the expectations of the department in their conduct. They were courteous throughout this incident and explained their reasoning as they were able.”
Civil trial abruptly ends just as it was getting started
The Buries filed a civil lawsuit against Payless Car Rental for negligence and emotional distress. The trial started on Oct. 7.
However, right after opening statements, both sides agreed to settle for $350,000.
The Buries told us they’re relieved that it’s over, but the money can’t repair the emotional distress that was caused by the police stop.
“My emotional state, it was just unhinged,” Sheena Burie said, standing next to Cole. “And Cole didn’t know how to deal with it, he sort of shut down, we just never could come together and have any sort of agreement in any way. So it led to our separation and long, drawn-out divorce.”
In opening statements, the lawyer for Payless Car Rental said the previous renter of the minivan turned it in late and without checking it in, and it was mistakenly placed back in rotation.
The company has apologized to the Buries.