But because he recognized that taking someone's vehicle required more than an angry person's insistence that it should be removed.
I thought about that when I heard his account.
The driver had done exactly what the HOA president repeatedly refused to do.
He had stopped when the facts didn't support the action he was being asked to take.
The state investigators eventually confirmed that the disputed annexation agreement was not a valid recorded transfer of rights over my property.
That was the first important finding.
The county's official land records still showed our parcel outside Cedar Vale Estates. There was no valid recorded amendment, deed, or other binding agreement placing it under the association's private covenants.
The second finding was more serious.
The document bearing my father's name had been created long after his death and circulated within the association's development files as though it represented his consent.
Investigators were examining who created it and why.
The HOA president claimed she had received it from an outside consultant.
The consultant disputed that explanation.
Other correspondence suggested the board president had requested changes to the development package after being told the proposed road could not proceed without proper rights over the eastern strip.
The project also involved financial relationships that hadn't been disclosed clearly to the association's members.
A consulting business connected to the president had received preliminary payments.
Her son's company was positioned to benefit from vehicle removal and site operations associated with the proposed entrance.
And some board approvals did not match the accounts of members who supposedly voted for them.
The evidence didn't establish every allegation immediately.
Investigators still needed original records, financial information, and formal statements.
But the broader picture was becoming clearer.
The HOA president had promised a new access project that depended on land she did not control.
Instead of securing that land through a legitimate agreement, she had treated the neighboring homeowners as obstacles to be pressured into cooperation.
My father had refused to sell the eastern strip.
I had refused to join the association.
And the blue Mustang provided a convenient excuse to begin issuing violations.
Once the pressure started, the president seemed to believe she could force the outcome simply by refusing to accept no.