No doubt the leadership did not give them the information to work with - failure. In your example above it is exactly the agency that tells the cops that the car tag is reported stolen that told this department that there was a problem to begin with from what I understand.

But the question here was the actions of the police officers and their actions on the scene.

In your example above - the officer's responding to the airport would have been told - the plane has the same registration of one reported to be stolen 9 years ago and it was misidentified just last year. Now go get them. In that case the reaction MIGHT NOT have been the same.
I think a better example with yours above is to leave out the 9 year part and just let them know that it was a suspected stolen car possibly being used by drug runners.

USMCFLYR

 

The SBPD still sound pretty inept.

They thought EPIC was a "private company", which it certainly is not. They didn't comprehend serial numbers and wanted a VIN of the aircraft (which they had to ask the owner for assistance). They had to rely upon the aircraft to TAXI TO THEM, rather than roll out and stop the aircraft. I mean, if there truly was a threat, one would think they'd intercept it instead of hoping the aircraft would roll that way.

Sorry, pre 9/11 or post 9/11 this is straight up keystone cops.

 

Private pilots chafe at surprise searches - Toledo Blade

I was looking for that other thread to tack this article onto - the one about profiling flight patterns - but this was a good second.

 

Keeping this short:

From my previous career in law enforcement and the information provided in this article, the officers responded and acted appropriately in this instance given the (faulty) information that was provided to them.
If I am advised to handle a situation of a stolen vehicle or airplane (as example) and I come across said item/suspects (regardless of how they are dressed, look, or time of day), I will approach and handle the situation as if it is real until I can determine otherwise. To handle this type of situation in any other manner has resulted in the loss of far too many law enforcement and civilian lives over countless years.
Once again, faulty communications (information sharing) between Federal agencies (DEA, El Paso Intelligence Center, and the FAA) initiated this situation. The police were performing their duties with the flawed information provided to them from the Federal agencies.

 

OK, RhinoPherret, what about this:

A questionable rationale - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

 

Why not? If you don't expect it, then that's when I would do it.