Towing Companies Gone Wild
As a follow up to last week’s report on predatory towing companies acting as bounty hunters and the need to regulate them, I would like to share another article, this one from today’s Oregonian.
This is another story of a tow truck driver who took matters into his own hands and towed an allegedly illegally parked vehicle from the parking lot of an apartment complex. Well, he didn’t get very far, as the driver of the vehicle came out and stopped him from driving the car away.
This is really a must read, and not only because it covers all of the excuses at his trial for auto theft. The punch line is that the car he was trying to tow had red and blue lights on top and was clearly marked with the words “Gresham Police” on both sides.
Yes, this is a “stupid criminal” story, but his excuses are very telling. Among the excuses given in the article:
- The driver insisted there had been a white SUV parked between his tow truck and one of the police cruisers before he started to back up. He had intended to pick up the SUV by backing his lift under it. But he said the owner apparently moved the SUV in those few seconds, and he ended up with the patrol car.
- The driver for Retriever Towing, hadn’t turned on his truck’s lights, to avoid tipping off owners that their cars were about to be towed. “My lights, they’re bright. . . . I don’t want people coming out, because if it’s their car, I’m going to have to release it,” he explained.
- He told the judge that it was past 2 a.m. and very dark at the apartment complex.
- Exhaust from his tailpipe was obscuring his rear view.
- The driver said he had hurt his neck earlier and couldn’t turn to see what he was loading.
I understand that this driver was trying to get out of a felony conviction when he made these excuses. However, I believe that if this is the kind of justification we get for towing cars, then the problem is worse than we think.
Why is it a problem if the driver comes right out and he has to release the vehicle? Only if we are stealing cars rather than enforcing the law.
Why does it matter where a car is parked at an apartment complex at 2:00am, as long as it hasn’t been there for a long tome? Only if we are stealing cars rather than enforcing the law.
Why wouldn’t a legitimate tow operator verify the identity of a vehicle before it was towed. Only if we are stealing cars rather than enforcing the law.
Yes, I understand that this particular incident, the driver was bad and did something clearly wrong. He has been subsequently fired by his employer. However, we have seen enough other cases of questionable tows here that we seriously need to answer one question. Is Retriever Towing stealing cars or enforcing the law? Where is the line drawn?
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