Vehicle seizures from unlicensed drivers drop in Petaluma

ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

While vehicle impoundment remains a concern of many Latino families and other residents of Petaluma, the Petaluma Police Department is emphasizing that officers use discretion in these situations, and a statewide law-enforcement committee might soon be issuing an advisory policy that could drastically reduce the number of vehicles impounded from unlicensed drivers.

Many of Petaluma’s Latino families, in particular, have found themselves in dire straits during the past few years after vehicles have been impounded from family members who are not legally allowed to obtain driver’s licenses. But recently, the Petaluma Police Department has been showing more flexibility in impounding vehicles — partly due to increased mutual understanding that has developed through meetings involving Latino residents and city officials — and a joint committee might soon be issuing a statewide advisory on the matter.

“We haven’t changed our policy, but we now have a heightened awareness of the situation and give officers constant, ongoing training that emphasizes that they can use their discretion in impoundment cases,” said Chief Dan Fish of the Petaluma Police Department. “Officers evaluate each situation, and put it to a test.

“Not every car is impounded from unlicensed drivers: The vehicles of drivers whose licenses are suspended are impounded much more frequently, because there’s more reason these people shouldn’t be on the road.”

The Petaluma Police Department impounded 515 vehicles in 2010, compared with 657 in 2009.

“I attribute the decline to the additional training we are giving officers, and to reinforcing to them that they can use discretion,” Fish said.

“The police department seems to be taking a more humanistic approach,” said Cindy Moore, a Petaluma United Church of Christ member who has been working with the North Bay Sponsoring Committee to help build relationships between Latinos and law-enforcement agencies.

The Petaluma Police Department has vehicles towed to Petaluma Towing, Downtown Towing and American Tow Service, which charges $180 per day for the towing, $50 per day for storage of the vehicle and from $50 to $100 for a lien fee. Also, the city of Petaluma charges an administrative fee for impounded vehicles.

On Jan. 1, 1995, new California vehicle laws authorized law-enforcement agencies to tow and impound vehicles for 30 days when driven by unlicensed drivers, as well as those driving with suspended or revoked licenses. Some local police departments have adopted more relaxed approaches in cases involving vehicles impounded from unlicensed drivers for the first time. San Francisco allows these vehicles to be retrieved by licensed drivers if they can arrive within 30 minutes, San Jose does not impound the vehicles and Berkeley tows the vehicles but does not impound them.

Recently, debate has heated up regarding enforcement of this law in situations involving unlicensed drivers who are undocumented immigrants, and therefore unable to obtain driver’s licenses.

“Impounding of vehicles for 30 days is not appropriate, and is a crucial issue for many families: A drunken driver can get a car back after one night,” said Davin Cardenas, an organizer for the North Bay Organizing Project, a new organization attempting to address major issues in Petaluma and other Sonoma County cities.

“Families whose cars have been towed have obligations, but they can’t really get out of the home,” said Edgar, a Latino resident from Petaluma who declined to give his last name. “And it costs hundreds of dollars when a car is towed and picked up, but it’s hard to get a job now.

“A friend of mine who got arrested for driving without a license ended up getting deported to Mexico. There should be more people helping us.”

“The impact of impounding cars is felt not just by the family involved: It’s also felt by the community, because the family members can’t get to their jobs,” Moore said.

Ted Feldman, rabbi at B’nai Israel Jewish Center in Petaluma, has been serving with the NBSC as it focuses on the impoundment issue.

“We realize that this is a controversial issue, tied to immigration law and public safety concerns. Our process is ongoing,” he said, referring to the continuing meetings that the NBSC is organizing involving Latino residents and city officials.

“We’re creating opportunities for people to talk about their concerns, and voice their opinions,” added Michael Saxe-Taller, an organizer for the NBSC.

Part of the problem for law-enforcement agencies is that a statewide law-enforcement policy has not been adopted to address the increased concerns of people whose vehicles are impounded only because they can’t obtain driver’s licenses.

Sal Rosano, a former chief of the Santa Rosa Police Department who now is the law-enforcement liaison for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Western region, says that the California Peace Officers Association and the California Police Officers Association are determining what recommendations should be offered, if any, to their joint committee on the vehicle-impoundment issue.

“There have been some court cases which have cast some doubt on whether a law-enforcement agency can impound the car of an unlicensed driver for a 30-day period, even though the current statute permits it,” Rosano said.

The committee has not formalized its recommendations, but is likely to consider a policy that treats drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked differently from unlicensed drivers because those who have had their licenses suspended and revoked already have been convicted of an offense that has affected their driving privilege.

“Based on this difference and the prevailing court cases, we may recommend that when a law-enforcement officer stops an unlicensed driver, the individual be cited for driving without a license, and the vehicle driven by the unlicensed driver be turned over to a licensed driver, or parked and secured in a location not likely to be damaged or stolen,” Rosano said.

If those two options are not available, the vehicle would be towed for safekeeping until the next business day, when a licensed driver could claim it after paying towing and storage fees.

“I think that this is a good idea,” Cardenas said. “There needs to be a solution to the current situation because it’s a very gray area.”

Rosano says that it would be the prerogative of each law-enforcement agency to utilize this suggested policy, if adopted. He feels that a long-term solution might need to come from legislators.

“It is my opinion that the broader issue of undocumented aliens and their inability to qualify for a driver’s license should be legislatively addressed in some fashion,” Rosano said. “It should not be a burden on law-enforcement agencies to make hardship accommodations for such individuals at the risk of permitting untested, unlicensed and uninsured drivers to continue driving without taking enforcement action.

“To do otherwise endangers the public and exposes the agency to potential liability for failure to act.”

Assemblymember Jared Huffman supports providing a means for undocumented immigrants to legally drive.

“There needs to be a way for these folks to get driver’s licenses, or at least functional equivalents of them,” he said. “In the meantime, police departments need to use discretion rather than enforce one-size-fits-all policies.”

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