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311 Vehicle Towing (Issued 05-15-2008)FRIDLEY POLICE DATE OF ISSUE NUMBER: GENERAL ORDER May 15, 2008 311 SUBJECT: REVISION DATE SECTION: Vehicle Towing and Administrative Inventory May 15, 2008 Yellow I. PURPOSE To provide a guideline to assist personnel in properly categorizing vehicles towed and inventory procedures to be followed. II. POLICY The Department has implement guidelines and procedures regarding police towing and administrative inventory of police towed vehicles for the protection of owner’s property, insuring against claims of lost, stolen, or vandalized property and the protection of law enforcement personnel from potentially dangerous items. III. REFERENCES Minnesota Statutes § 168B Abandoned Motor Vehicles Minnesota Statutes § 169.041 Towing Authorized City Ordinance 114.03 Abandoned Motor Vehicle City Ordinance 506 Vehicle Parking IV. DEFINITIONS Accident Tows Vehicles towed from an accident scene. Violation Tows Vehicles towed as a result of a traffic or criminal arrest. Abandoned Auto Tows Vehicles towed as a result of being abandoned. Private Tows Vehicles towed at the direction of the owner/operator of the vehicle. This could include a tow company selected by the owner/driver or the contract tow. Financial arrangements for the tow would be the responsibility of the owner/driver. Police Tows Vehicles towed at the direction of a police officer and stored at the contract tow agency or city facility. V. PROCEDURE A. Contract Agreement 1. The towing contractor shall maintain at least one wrecker available to the Fridley Police Department for 24 hour emergency service for the purpose of towing, removal, or storage of vehicles. 2. All vehicles to be towed will be towed by the contract towing company unless: a. The vehicle’s owner specifically asks for another service, AND, in the officer’s judgment, the situation allows the extra time. This would refer to accident or traffic hazard tows only. b. The contract tow notified the officer they are unable to respond. c. The officer waited a reasonable amount of time and the contract tow has not arrived. This should be documented in the officer’s report and a copy made available to the Division Commander. B. Towing Procedures 1. Accident Tows a. If a private tow is used the officer will so note in the police report. b. Private tows will not necessitate a Towed Vehicle Report. 2. Violation Tows a. All violation tows must fit into the guidelines provided by Minnesota Statutes § 169.041. 1) Sub 3 of that statute requires a 4 hour waiting period between the time when a citation is issued and the vehicle is towed. There are 13 exceptions listed in the statute. 2) Sub 5 prohibits towing of motor vehicles parked on public streets for expired registration unless the tabs have been expired for more than 90 days. b. All violation tows will require a Towed Vehicle Report. c. All violation tows should result in a citation being issued. A possible exception to this would be vehicles being towed only as a traffic hazard. d. A snowbird violation tow may be handled as a private tow if the owner arrives and settles with the tow driver before the vehicle is removed, i.e. owner pays the driver and asks vehicle be placed in driveway. e. If the driver/owner of a vehicle is taken into custody and a qualified driver is immediately available, the officer may allow the qualified driver to remove the car from the scene if it is the desire of the driver/owner. f. There are some situations where it is illegal for a driver to continue driving his/her vehicle, i.e. admitted no insurance, and/or driving after suspension/revocation. In those cases an officer should inform the driver of that fact and offer to summon a tow company of the driver’s choice. If the driver elects not to use that option and then continues the criminal activity, he/she can be stopped a second time and taken into custody. The car can be towed as a police tow subsequent to a custodial arrest. 3. Abandoned Auto Tows a. This category is to be used for vehicles in violation of City Ordinance 114. b. All abandoned auto tows will require a Towed Vehicle Report. 4. Evidentiary Tows a. All evidentiary towed vehicles will require a Towed Vehicle Report. b. Vehicles which are impounded as evidence will be secured by the officer to protect any evidence present. c. All evidentiary tows will be impounded in the police garage. If the vehicle is too large for the police garage or if other reasons exist that make it not feasible to impound it there, it will be stored at the city garage. If it is stored at the city garage a note will be displayed on the vehicle briefly explaining why it is there. In all cases the location of the vehicle should be mentioned on the police report. C. Fridley Police Department Towed Vehicle Report 1. The form to be used will be referred to as a Towed Vehicle Report and will consist of three copies. a. Original (white in color) b. 1st copy (yellow in color) c. 2nd copy (pink in color) 2. The procedure on using Towed Vehicle Report is as follows: a. Towing officer’s responsibilities 1) With copies attached, the officer will fill out the entire form noting any obvious high value items, damages, and/or missing equipment. 2) Holds can be used for proof of ownership or evidentiary purposes. They cannot be used for proof of insurance or to force someone to give information. However, per Minnesota Statutes § 169A.42, impounded vehicles on DUI arrests must be held for: i) Proof of Ownership ii) Proof of Insurance and iii) Proof of Licensed Driver or Tow Operator 3) If a hold is not placed on the towed vehicle, the officer will sign the Towed Vehicle Report indicating it can be released to the owner or authorized agent. The tow driver will then sign the Towed Vehicle Report and will be given the 1st (yellow) and 2nd (pink) copies. The original (white) copy will be retained by the officer and kept with the case file. 4) If a hold is to be placed on a vehicle the officer will not sign the Towed Vehicle Report authorizing release of the vehicle. The tow driver will still be required to sign the Towed Vehicle Report and will be given only the 2nd (pink) copy. The original (white) copy and the 1st (yellow) copy will be retained by the officer. 5) On all violation tows an officer, a Community Service Officer (CSO), or a reserve officer should stay with the vehicle until the tow truck arrives. The officer/CSO/reserve should be prepared to provide traffic direction or other assistance as required. 6) Completed Towed Vehicle Reports shall be submitted with the incident report to the shift supervisor for approval. D. Administrative Inventory of Towed Vehicles. 1. Whenever a vehicle is towed by order of a Fridley Police Officer as a violation or police tow, an officer will conduct an inventory of all items found within the vehicle which conform to the purpose of this order. a. The inventory shall include the glove box, trunk, and all other enclosures of the vehicle if assessable. b. The officer may open any or all closed containers for inventory purposes if it is felt items inside may conform to the purposes of this general order. c. The inventory can be conducted at the time of the tow or as soon as possible after it arrives at the storage facility. d. Items inventoried will be noted on the property section of the Fridley Police Towed Vehicle Report. e. Any incriminating evidence, drugs, contraband, or other similar items observed during an inventory search may be confiscated and used for prosecution purposes or disposal. f. In addition to items in the vehicle, the inventory may also include high value items installed in the car such as stereos and speakers. g. Police tows will only be used as outlined above. Police tows will not be used solely as a means for conducting an evidentiary search of a vehicle. E. Informational Services Unit (ISU) personnel responsibilities 1. Upon receiving copies of the Towed Vehicle Report, the ISU personnel will check computer files for stolen status and registration information. Registration print out will be attached to the Towed Vehicle Report. 2. Owner-Notification letter will be made out on all Towed Vehicle Reports and mailed to registered owner at the next available mailing time. a. One copy of Towed Vehicle Report to be mailed to owner b. One copy of Towed Vehicle Report to be retained and filed F. Releasing Vehicles With “Hold” Status 1. Only a police officer or CSO for the City of Fridley can release a vehicle with a “hold” status that was towed by a Fridley Officer. a. The releasing officer or CSO will review all related police reports and reasons for the hold. The officer should also consider any requests made by the arresting officer before releasing the towed vehicle. b. If it is not clear that the person requesting the vehicle is the actual owner of the vehicle, a supervisor should be summoned to determine whether or not to release the vehicle. 4. The releasing officer will sign and detach the 2nd copy and present this copy to the person requesting the vehicle. 5. The releasing officer will direct the person requesting the vehicle to present a copy to the towing company for the release of the vehicle. 6. The releasing officer will write a supplementary report detailing all releasing information and any action taken. 7. If a vehicle is held for evidentiary processing it can be released directly to the owner or to the contract tow agency after it has been processed. The owner must settle the financial obligations to the tow company prior to taking possession of the vehicle. G. CJDN Impound Files (“Hot Files”) 1. If a towed vehicle registration check indicates “Not on File” the ISU personnel will enter the plate number into the CJDN Impound File. 2. If a police officer comes upon a vehicle used in the commission of a crime and he cannot contact the owner or operator of the vehicle, the plate number of that vehicle can be entered in the CJDN Impound File by the ISU personnel if requested by the officer. 3. Any time a towed vehicle is entered into the CJDN Impound File it will be indicated on the tow sheet. 4. Whenever the owner of a vehicle which has been entered into the CJDN Impound File has been contacted, the ISU personnel will remove the vehicle from the CJDN Impound File.