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E.P.P. 040 LONGWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT ENFORCEMENT POLICY & PROCEDURE NUMBER: EPP – 40 SUBJECT: VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EFFECTIVE: JANUARY 26, 2001 REVISED: MARCH 31, 2023 ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 1 of 8 I. PURPOSE: In the course of duty on a day-to-day basis, it is necessary for the protection of the officer and the department to impound/inventory vehicles being towed and/or stored. Vehicles, which are towed as a result of an accident, abandoned, seized, incident to an arrest, or otherwise detained in storage, and not in the possession of the owner becomes the responsibility of the impounding officer. II. SCOPE: The officer is liable for the vehicle including, but not limited to, all packages and other containers, located within the passenger compartment, the trunk, or any other secured area of the vehicle. To ensure that liability does not attach for property located within any package or container, the contents of said package or container, whether it is opened or closed, is to be ascertained and inventoried in accordance with the guidelines set forth below. III. VEHICLES TO BE IMPOUNDED: A. All vehicles, which would be left abandoned and not legally parked will be impounded at the officer’s request by the police department’s contracted wrecker service subsequent to any action initiated by an officer, which would leave the vehicle in the above described condition. 1. All vehicles meeting the above criteria will be documented on the approved Vehicle Tow/Inventory Report Form on which all available information will be completed. 2. All members will inventory the inside of any impounded vehicle. This inventory shall include but is not limited to the passenger compartment, glove box, trunk or additional storage areas. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 2 of 8 3. All closed containers contained in vehicles will be opened and their content inventoried. IV. VEHICLES NOT REQUIRED TO BE IMPOUNDED A. Any vehicle which is legally parked will remain so subsequent to any action initiated by an officer may be exempt from the provisions of Section III-A. In the event a vehicle meets the criteria the following procedure will be followed: 1. The operator/owner will sign an automobile liability release form, which will release the City from any liability for leaving the vehicle abandoned. 2. If the operator/owner refuses to sign the automobile liability release form, the provisions of Section III-A, at which time the vehicle will be impounded and inventoried in accordance with Section III-A. 3. Any officer at his or her discretion may deny the operator/owner the opportunity to avoid impounding the vehicle. Under these conditions the vehicle will no longer be exempt and will be impounded and inventoried in accordance with Section III-A. V. ABANDONED VEHICLES REQUIRING TOW/IMPOUNDMENT A. All abandoned or unoccupied vehicles that are towed/impounded shall be entered into FCIC/NCIC as “Abandoned/Towed” by the Telecommunications Center at the request of the initiating officer. The initiating officer shall complete the tow sheet in the following manner: 1. In the Reason(s) Towed Section of the form select “Other” and print “Abandoned Vehicle”; 2. Complete and document an inventory of the vehicle; 3. In the Vehicle Can Be Released Section of the form select “NO” and print “until proof of ownership on vehicle is provided”; 4. In the Vehicle Entered FCIC/NCIC Section of the form select “YES” and enter the Teletype entry number. 5. In the Owner Notified of Impounded Section of the form select “YES” or “NO”, whichever applies, and complete the date and time of notification or attempt of notification. If possible, a continuous effort to notify the owner of the vehicle should be made throughout the remainder of the initiating officer’s tour of duty. These attempts should be documented in the required information report or narrative relevant to the incident. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 3 of 8 6. Disseminate copies of the Vehicle Tow/Inventory Report form as indicated at the bottom of the form. 7. Advise the wrecker driver that the vehicle is to be held at their storage facility until they receive notification form the Police Department that the vehicle can be released. B. When vehicles requiring tow are found to be abandoned/unoccupied, an officer shall complete and submit to the Records Section an Information Report or include in the Incident Report Narrative the following: 1. Reason(s) for towing; 2. Registered owner; 3. Notification (or attempts) to registered owner; 4. Vehicle Identification Number (V.I.N.) appearing; 5. License plate number; 6. Towing/Wrecker service utilized; 7. Storage location of vehicle; and 8. FCIC/NCIC entry number. VI. PLACING A HOLD ON AN IMPOUNDED VEHICLE A. When a vehicle is impounded the wrecker driver will be advised if a “Hold” is being placed on the vehicle. The wrecker driver will then note the “HOLD” status on his/her impound report. B. Any officer placing a “Hold” on any impounded vehicle will complete an Information Report indicating the reason for the “Hold” and what criteria must be satisfied prior to releasing the vehicle. In lieu of the Information Report, the required information may be included in the narrative portion of the Incident Report relevant to the incident if one is required to be completed. C. In the Vehicle Can Be Released Section of the Vehicle Tow/Inventory Report form, select “NO” and print the reason(s) for the hold being placed on the vehicle. D. Only the lieutenant has the authority to approve a “Hold” on a vehicle and will therefore review the reason(s) for the “Hold” and the initial Vehicle Tow/Inventory Report form indicating that the “Hold” status has been approved. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 4 of 8 VII. PROCEDURES FOR RELEASING A VEHICLE FROM IMPOUND A. A vehicle owner can obtain authorization for their vehicle’s release only for the law enforcement agency that had it towed/impounded; B. In situations where a Longwood Police Officer impounded/towed a vehicle pursuant to this policy, the owner will be required to bring proof of ownership to the Longwood Police Department Headquarters; C. To facilitate the vehicle’s release, the owner will also need to bring the case number (if obtained); D. An officer will inspect the proof of ownership to ensure its validity and will then contact the tow company to verify that the proof of ownership presented by the owner corresponds with the Vehicle Identification Number (V.I.N.) of the impounded/towed vehicle; E. If the V.I.N. matches, the officer will inform the tow company that the vehicle may be released and that the owner will bring them a copy of the Police Department report that authorizes the release; F. The officer will inform the owner that any costs arising from the lawfully executed tow is a matter between them and the tow company and not that of the Police Department. G. The officer will complete a Supplemental Report Form using the original case number. H. The officer will print on the Supplemental Report Form the following data: 1. Original Case Number; 2. Date of impound; 3. Impounded vehicle information: a. Year; b. Make; c. Color; d. Vehicle Identification number. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 5 of 8 4. Owner’s name; 5. Type of “Proof of Ownership” presented. 6. Date of vehicle release; 7. Time of vehicle release; 8. Releasing officer’s information: a. Name; b. Rank; c. Identification number. 9. If the vehicle had been entered into NCIC/FCIC, the releasing officer must then contact the Telecommunications Center and request that the vehicle be removed from FCIC/NCIC. The officer must indicate in the Supplemental Report the date and time of removal. I. The officer will sign the Supplemental Report Form where indicated and give the owner of the vehicle two copies, instructing the owner to give one of the copies to the tow company. The original will be forwarded to the Records Section. J. The law required the tow company to provide notice within seven days to all registered owners and lien holders that the tow company has the vehicle. The cost of impoundment is to be paid by the person who owns or leases the vehicle. K. An owner may also obtain a release of their vehicle by posting a bond with the Clerk of the Court and obtaining a certificate of release from the clerk. Upon posting the bond, the tow company must release the vehicle. VIII. VEHICLE DRIVER ARRESTED A. If an officer arrests a driver, the safekeeping of the driver’s vehicle becomes the officer’s responsibility. An officer will not create an unnecessary financial hardship on any driver by indiscriminately towing his/her vehicle. B. If the driver is arrested for a non-D.U.I. violation the vehicle may be left in a parking lot (in a lawful location), on a roadway right-of-way (in a non-hazardous area), etc. without being towed if: 1. The driver signs an “Automobile Impound Release Affidavit” provided by the arresting officer; or ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 6 of 8 2. The registered owner or a family member who is a lawful driver can respond to the scene within twenty minutes to take custody of the vehicle; or 3. The arrest is made while the vehicle is parked on the driver’s property. C. If the driver refuses to sign the affidavit or, if no person listed above can take custody or, if the vehicle is not on the driver’s property, and officer will have the vehicle towed for safekeeping. D. If the driver is arrested on a D.U.I. violation it will be assumed by the officer that the driver is not capable of understanding the nature of the affidavit, and the vehicle will be towed for safekeeping. An exception may be made if: 1. The registered owner or a family member who is a lawful driver can respond to the scene within twenty minutes to take custody of the vehicle; or, 2. The arrest is made while the vehicle is parked in the driver’s property. IX. TOWING PROCEDURES A. If a vehicle is to be towed by an officer, the following procedure will apply: 1. The officer will attempt to contact the owner. All efforts to contact the owner will be documented in the narrative section of the Incident Report Form; 2. The officer will check the vehicle’s tag and V.I.N. number through the Telecommunications Section prior to towing; 3. A Vehicle/Property Form will be completed; 4. A Tow Sheet Form will be completed and the vehicle inventoried (if possible); NOTE: When a vehicle is ordered towed by an officer, on the reverse side of the Tow Sheet Form, the officer will diagram the area from where the vehicle was towed and indicate the position of the vehicle when it was in violation of law. 5. A Police Department contracted wrecker will be summoned via dispatch by the officer and an ETA will be requested. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 7 of 8 6. Officers may cancel the wrecker response ONLY under the following conditions; a. The ETA provided via dispatch is excessive and the road blockage involved is extreme enough that the roadway must be cleared immediately. b. Under no circumstances will wreckers be cancelled if their response time is 20 minutes or less. A 20-minute response time is not considered excessive regardless of the amount of the roadway blockage. 7. Officers may deviate from the contract tow list only under the following conditions; a. The company does not have the required equipment to complete the job (i.e. Class “C” wrecker) b. Inside impound is needed for vehicles requiring processing and the company does not have this type of facility. 8. The vehicle will be towed to the wrecker’s storage yard unless it is to be held pending forfeiture proceedings in which case it will be towed to the Police Department and the officer will advise the Telecommunications Section to enter the vehicle into FCIC/NCIC as abandoned or impounded. The officer will document said notification in the Incident Report Form’s narrative section or by initiating an Information Report documenting the incident and action taken. 9. Vehicles towed for processing will be towed and provided inside storage by the police department contracted tow-company. 10. All city police vehicles requiring tow service will be towed by the police department’s contracted tow-company. X. Vehicles impounded subsequent to code enforcement action A. Any vehicle impounded subsequent to any City Code Violation action, whether removed from public or private property, shall be documented and inventoried in accordance with Section III-A. B. A copy of the Vehicle/Tow Report form will be left at the residence or business where the vehicle is towed from. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY EPP – 40 Page 8 of 8 C. An Information Report or Narrative shall be completed in accordance with the documentation requirements set forth in Section V(B).