Failure To Remain - Do The Cops Really Care?

My car got hit today at the parking lot as I was pulling into a parking spot on my right. The guy behind me was tailgating and didn't stop on time, hit me from behind, damaging the bumper on the driver's side. He then stopped for a second, processed what just happened, and took off; I was making sure my son was ok at the back so I didn't get his license plate number. My boyfriend jumped out of the car and tried going after him but it was too late..I guess I should have followed him? But its a busy shopping plaza and honestly the guy looked like he could have been a gang member or something...I noticed however that the car was a right-handed one and I can describe the driver fairly well. There are cameras in the parking lot and I have witnesses. I went to report the damage to the police, it's estimated to be about 500 bucks worth...I'm under the impression however that since I didn't get the guy's license plate, no one is going to even bother investigating. Is this true?