(a) Members of the department of police or any authorized designee of the county executive are hereby authorized to remove a parked or unattended vehicle or trailer from a street, highway, public way, county property or privately owned public parking lot to the nearest police station, garage or other place of safety designated by the department of police or county executive if said vehicle or trailer has been involved in or the subject of three (3) or more outstanding, past due violations of this chapter.
(1) Whenever a vehicle or trailer is removed from a street, highway, public way, county property or privately owned public parking lot as authorized in this chapter and the officer or agent knows or is able to ascertain from the registration records in the vehicle or trailer or the records of the state motor vehicle administration the name and address of the owner thereof, such officer or agent shall immediately give or cause to be given notice in writing to such owner of the fact of such removal and the reasons therefor, and the method by which release can be secured. A copy of said notice shall be sent to the department of finance and to the officer or proprietor in charge of the place where said vehicle is being held.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or permit the removal of a vehicle from the custody of the county without first obtaining authorization from the county, a court order or paying all fines, penalties, costs and other charges associated with the impoundment of said vehicle.
(b) Members of the department of police or any authorized designee of the county executive are hereby authorized to immobilize, in such a manner as to prevent its operation, a parked or unattended vehicle or trailer, if such vehicle or trailer has been involved in or the subject of three (3) or more outstanding, past due violations of this chapter except that no such vehicle or trailer may be immobilized by any means other than the use of a device or mechanism that will cause no damage to such vehicle or trailer unless it is moved while such device or mechanism is in place.
(1) In any case involving immobilization pursuant to this section, such officer or agent shall cause to be placed on such vehicle or trailer in a conspicuous manner notice sufficient to warn any individual to the effect that such vehicle has been immobilized and that any attempt to move such vehicle might result in damage to such vehicle. Said notice shall further instruct the owner or operator of the procedure to follow to secure release of the vehicle.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to be found tampering with or removing or attempting to remove the immobilization device without authorization or found removing the warning notice.
(c) In any case involving the impoundment or immobilization of a vehicle under this Section, an administrative cost set by Council resolution adopted under Section 2-57A must be charged to the owner or operator of the vehicle, in addition to all outstanding fines and penalties assessed for violations of this Chapter and any towing and storage costs incurred. All such fines, penalties, costs, and charges must be paid to the County before the owner may reclaim or secure the release of the vehicle. (1978 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 2; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 36; , § 1; , § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated citing the section in a discussion of the scope of authority for the Department of Public Works to tow vehicles from County roads and to provide roadside assistance.
2004 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 2, states in part: Any fee, charge, or fare in effect when this Act takes effect [July 22, 2004] must remain in effect until amended by Council resolution as provided in Section 2-57, as amended by Section 1 of this Act.
