Apparently, cleaning up your own neighborhood can make you look like a criminal these days.

So, what would you do if you decided to spend your Saturday picking up litter in your neighborhood, only to have a stranger accuse you of working for the city, and then call the police when you insisted you didn’t?

Would you freak out? Or would you stay calm and try to explain yourself?

In the following story, a resident finds himself in this exact situation, and things go south pretty quickly.

Here’s the full scoop.

IDWHL, so I must be a criminal

At the end of my street, there’s a little section of bushland with a path running through it. A couple of hundred kids walk through it after school each day, and a lot of litter gets dropped.

This morning I went down with a couple of garbage bags and started cleaning up the rubbish. This was a mistake.

So I’m down there, picking up rubbish, when I hear “Hey! Hey you!” and turn to see Karen closing fast.

From the start, he tried to tell her that he didn’t work for the council.

Karen: “Hey! I want to talk to you about my rates notice! I just got this quarter’s rates, and they’ve gone up! I’m on a fixed income, and I really can’t afford this increase. I need you to adjust my bill. The council can’t just put rates up like that!”

Me: I don’t work for the council

Karen: It’s ridiculous that they’re putting the rates up anyway. They obviously have money to burn sending you out here on a Saturday. I suppose you’re getting full overtime pay.

Me: I don’t work for the council

She finally started to understand.

Karen: I suppose it’s alright for you, you get discounted rates as an employee, right?

Me: I don’t work for the council

Karen: I… wait, what do you mean you don’t work for the council?

Me: I don’t work for the council

Unexpectedly, she turned it around on him before storming off.

Karen: Well, why did you tell me you work for the council?

Me: I didn’t tell you I work for the council

Karen: Well, what are you doing picking up litter?

Me: It’s ugly and bad for the environment

Karen: …HMPH! (and storms off)

Then, a few police officers show up.

At this point, it’s just a funny interaction, right? Well, 15 minutes later, the cops show up.

Cop 1: Hey! Do you work for the council?

Me: No, I don’t work for the council

Cop 2: Are you telling people you work for the council?

Me: No, I don’t work for the council. I haven’t told anyone I work for the council.

They want to know why he’s picking up litter, too.

Cop 1: Well, what are you doing?

Me: Picking up litter

Cop 2: Why are you doing that if you don’t work for the council?

Me: It’s ugly and bad for the environment

Cop 1: Well, we’ve had a complaint of someone impersonating a council worker asking people for financial information

Cop 2: Do you live around here?

When he couldn’t produce an ID, they arrested him.

Me: Yes, just up there

Cop 1: Can we see some ID with your address?

Me: Well, I don’t have my wallet on me…

Cop 2: I think you’d better come with us…

So anyway, that’s how I got arrested this morning.

Wow! Imagine having that happen while trying to do a good deed.

Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit think about what happened to him.

Here’s a valid question.

This reader appreciates what he was doing.

Yet another person who doesn’t see how asking a council worker would help.

For this person, it’s about fighting back.

Now, that’s some bad luck, but hopefully it doesn’t deter him from trying to do good deeds in the future.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.