Civil Rights Attorneys Sue to Block Car Impound Policy

A group of civil rights attorneys filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the Los Angeles Police Department's recently approved policy on impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of civil rights attorney Carol Watson asks a judge to block the department from enforcing the policy.

The complaint argues the LAPD policy change illegally requires a mandatory 30-day impound of drivers stopped with an expired California driver's license or a foreign driver's license.

It argues the department unlawfully prevents the owners of vehicles from getting their cars back before 30 days when another driver who is not the owner was at fault for the violation and impound.

The lawsuit also contends LAPD procedures for notifying car owners of an impound deny alleged violators due process by not notifying them of a hearing date to contest an impound.

The city Police Commission last week approved a new policy that allowed offenders who have valid identification, car registration and proof of insurance to avoid a mandatory 30-day impound.

Under the policy, which was approved on a 4-1 vote, drivers who were at fault in an accident, or had prior convictions for driving unlicensed would not qualify for a shortened impound.

Councilman Mitch Englander, who represents Council District 12 which includes Chatsworth, had opposed the new policy. He said then: "I don't think this passes legal muster, quite frankly, from my analysis."

Police Chief Charlie Beck, who proposed the policy with the backing of immigrants' rights groups and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said last week the change was an attempt to eliminate confusion by officers in the field over two conflicting laws regarding when to impound a vehicle and for how long.

He also said the policy unnecessarily penalized some of the city's poorest residents.

Two attorneys behind the lawsuit argued it did not go far enough, saying it does nothing to curtail the high costs of having a vehicle towed and impounded.

A 30-day impound costs about $1,500, according to attorney Cynthia Anderson-Barker.

"The current Robin Hood-in-reverse policy robs the poorest members of our community of their vehicles, money, credit and livelihood while making large profits for private towing companies who give a cut of the money they recover to the city and state," Barker and Donald W. Cook, two of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.

Barker said Watson was chosen as the plaintiff because she is empathetic and understands the issues, adding, "you need to be a resident and taxpayer, and she is that."

The Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL), the union representing rank- and-file police officers, also disagrees with the policy change, but for different reasons. The union believes the law encourages more unlicensed drivers to be on the roads and jeopardizes public safety. The LAPPL has not decided whether to file its own lawsuit, spokesman Eric Rose said.

The LAPD impounded about 30,000 cars last year. About 85 percent of those were for violations of a state vehicle code that mandates a 30-day impound.

In a memo to the Police Commission last month, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said the policy change is legally defensible. His office was not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit filed today.

A memo by the state Legislative Council, which provides legal advice to state legislators, questioned its legality. District Attorney Steve Cooley also sent a letter to the commission stating that the policy violates state law and would make the city vulnerable to lawsuits.

-- City News Service