Handcuffed on the side of a busy Winnipeg road surrounded by officers and flashing police cruisers is an experience one Winnipeg mother hopes never happens to anyone else.

Nicole Bamburak, 36, was on her way to pick up her two children from school on Oct. 24 when she was pulled over by four police cars in the city's St. Boniface neighbourhood.

Bamburak was ordered out of the car with her hands up.

"I was terrified and mortified," Bamburak told CBC News. "All I could think of was, thank goodness my kids weren't in the car with me because that would be even more horrific."

She was cuffed and asked by an officer if she knew she was driving a stolen vehicle.

There's a breakdown in process somewhere. — Nicole Bamburak

"I told him yes. It was mine. It was stolen in May and I got it back in June," Bamburak recalled.

Her Honda CR-V had been stolen from her driveway on May 11. Six weeks later police found it across the city, abandoned, she said.

After officers on the scene checked her licence and registration they verified the black four-door indeed belonged to her.

Police explained that it was still listed as stolen in a national database, Bamburak said.

"At this point, I was panic-stricken and hyperventilating and crying," she said, adding police immediately apologized. They explained that their cruisers automatically scan license plates and hers was flagged as stolen.

Nicole Bamburak recalls how she was pulled over and handcuffed for driving a vehicle that Winnipeg police believed was stolen. The mother of two said she had reported her vehicle stolen in May, but it was found six weeks later. 2:54

Unacceptable error, police say

What troubles Bamburak more is the officers said they have pulled over multiple vehicles recently in similar situations.

"There's a breakdown in process somewhere," Bamburak said. "I got my car back in June, so it's been four months."

We can't … really tolerate that kind of error. — Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Rob Carver

Winnipeg police confirmed that when a vehicle is stolen the details are logged into the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), a national police database.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Rob Carver said there are a number of steps officers are required to follow when a stolen vehicle is recovered — one of which is updating the database.

Carver said it's possible there was a clerical or database error in updating the information. While these instances are rare, Carver said they're still unacceptable.

"We can't, within our own system, really tolerate that kind of error because often when a vehicle is stolen, it can be stolen and involved in an armed situation … and we might be taking a vehicle down at gunpoint," Carver said. "The last thing we want is a vehicle that's still listed as part of a crime when it isn't."

Carver said he will be looking into how often this is happening, adding "it cannot be left unaddressed."

More checks and balances

Bamburak said she understands and appreciates the officers who pulled her over were doing their job. She is calling for more checks and balances to ensure information is updated and said she would like to see Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), which provides all car insurance in province, involved in the process.

The CPIC database is accessible by the public and she would like to see MPI check it before closing a stolen vehicle claim.

"The resources that were wasted in this happening, not to mention the panic and terror that I went through … it takes only a moment to go in and check before you close a file," she said.

"I would never want anybody to go through [what I did]."

An MPI spokesperson said the agency will work with police, but wants to avoid slowing work down.

"MPI needs to be careful not to set up additional processes that could delay settlement of customer claims, but we will work with law enforcement to confirm their processes align with those of the corporation," the spokesperson said.