Seizing a car that had nothing to do with incident?

[JoeDoe123]

My friend had his ex-girlfriend who he broke up with for cheating run into him at a bar (she traveled about an hr to see him). She was bothering him, trying to stop him from talking to anyone else. I having never met her before, but talked to her. She said she loves him and wants to get back together and didnt want to see him with anyone else. So I told her don't bother him, show him you love him. She give him a hug and kiss, and they got back together and went back to where he was staying

Later that night while I was starting to fall asleeps they went to get pizza and she let it slip she was meeting a guy she had cheated on him with. He alledgely started running and pushed her out of the way so he go back to his place (he stays at my friend beach house with me), lock the doors, and be rid of her.

She said she would scream and ring the bell till the police came and tell them stuff and an officer did come. My friend didn't realize the reason she wanted to get in was she had no place to stay and had left her car keys in the place. However she was drunk! Anyway after some time, the officer said the ex had no place to stay she would be arrested. I think it was then my friend opened the door, said he didnt want that, felt bad offered her a place to stay as long as she didnt talk to him. She ended up getting her stuff as the police officer
insisted she drive home (emotional and possibly drunk!) He said she didnt need a breathalyzer. She either drove away and we heard actually turn around and the officer stopped her and told her she needs to drive.

During when this happened, they apparently towed my friend's car which was parked in his parking spot on private property and hadn't been driven since two days befores. The car is in his company's name not his and they took it.

When he went to the police station the next morning to find out where his car was, they arrested him for offensive touching (pushing her so he could outrun her; she apparently didn't fall, etc). After going through everything he had to go to the tow place and pay $200. On the form it got listed as reason: Domestic

We both filed IA complaints for the reason of: taking his car (doesn't the 5th amendment protect him?) and the officer allowing a potentially drunk/emotional person to drive away.

What is my friend best course of action. I'm assuming he should have a good lawyer or are these charges fightable on his own? If so what does he need to do to start his defense?

 

[JoeDoe123]

The girl came to the bar and drove home both in her own car. Let me clarify, she had been drinking from 5pm to almost 1am. I believe it was 5 am ish by the time she left. She had been drinking and emotional. The officer didn't say to her drive drunk, but made her drive home in an impaired state. She alledgely asked him if she needed a breathlizer, he said no. She had no place else to stay in town, apparently her friends had no room and she was going to sleep in her car, which the officer wouldnt allow.

This was the same officer who gave the go ahead to arrest my friend. However my friend was arrested by a different officer in the morning (that officer was off duty). I believe when my friend opened the door the night before, the office didn't make any attempt to arrest him then.

My friend went to sleep for the night. It's when he went to the police station in the morning, the morning shift officer arrested him based on the night before officer having him do it. That officer was unreachable. He had some video conference with a judge.

I am relating this as best I can because I was a witness for most but not all of this.

What do you think about the car issue. What that legal?

 

[Caveman]

These people are not in MY state are they? they seem to be in the state of non-consequences. A very weird state.

Who cares about the car? It is really your car isn't it? Or are you the one with the drunk girlfriend?

What charges does the dude have? He has his car back sans $200.00 probably this will drop unless.. Priors?


Really and you people are goading us Cavemen and you are supposed to be upright and, well upright.

So we stoop a little and have a heavy forehead, maybe WE have the brains.

I have to eat now before this post gets a little more graphic and I lose my appetite.

I might need to call my therapist.

 

[outonbail]

OK, I'm pretty confused at this point, but I'll just try to address the issue with his company car.
First, when you say it was parked on private property, where exactly are you talking about? His driveway at his home? The bar parking lot? His employers parking lot?

When you say the car is in his companies name, is he self employed or does he work for a company who provides him this vehicle?

The reason for it being towed was listed as domestic? Do you have the paperwork from the tow company? Does it say under what authority or what specific code it was towed?
Why did he go to the police station? If he just needed to find out where they towed the vehicle, he could have called them and asked. Did they ask him to come down to the station or did he need to get a release from the police department before the towing company would release the vehicle?
Was the vehicle currently registered? Were there any unpaid parking tickets against the vehicle?

It just doesn't make sense that the police would tow a legally parked vehicle off of private property if it wasn't involved in a crime. How would they have even known which car was his if it wasn't registered in his name?

If I went out to get in my car in the morning and it wasn't there, I wouldn't walk, ride a bike or have someone take me to the police station, I would call the police to come out to my residence so they could take a stolen vehicle report, so how did he know that it was the police who had the vehicle towed?

I think you're missing a lot of the true and actual facts in this caper. Who are you and how is it you are involved in this nonsense anyway? A friend or possibly another leg in this love/hate/drink/drunk triangle of infidelity?

Did you pay the tow bill? My guess is that the unhappy couple were at some point in the vehicle that was towed and I find it hard to believe that the officer who requested he be arrested, had the opportunity to arrest him the night before, or he would have done just that.

You need to get the truth if you want any helpful, accurate answers to whatever legal questions you're asking.
Also, for the third time, you need to provide the name of the state this is all happening in! Not the state of anyone's mind or emotions, the state you pay your income taxes to each year and the state who's laws would apply to your situation.

 

[JoeDoe123]

I believe he works for a company which provides him with the vehicle. It was parked in our friend's (owner of house) condo's parking lot in the unit's reserve spot. His ex most likely told police it was his car. The condo is only 6 units, so it was in front of building.

On the tow form is simply says domestic. My reasoning is, if the officer violated the 5th amendment by towing the car illegally plus having my friend pay $200, it shows a pattern of disregard for the law. On the tow form it also checked to call police so if he showed up there he'd still have to go to the police station. He did not think in his wildest dreams he was under arrest, so he went to police station to inquire about his car

The charges pending are offensive touching. The ex did not want to press any charges.

 

[Caveman]

Oh! You live in that state, I have heard about that one.

 

[moburkes]

US Law Only - WHEN POSTING A QUESTION, YOU MUST INCLUDE THE NAME OF YOUR STATE

 

[outonbail]

OK, JoeDoe, maybe you're having trouble understanding the request for your state name.

So, Are you in the United States of America?

If the answer is yes, then you should know that the United States is plural, as in more than one. (This is referring to more than one state) In fact, as amazing as it sounds, our country has one state for each star on the American flag! Don't believe me? Well, if you count these stars, you will see there are fifty of them. Yes, 50 states! Each with it's own name, capital, governing body and laws. Yes, there are fifty different sets of laws, one for each state. While they all serve basically the same purpose, there are differences in their specific application and the circumstances which make them apply to a particular crime can be different as well as the punishment and penalty that goes along with them. For this reason, we require that you provide the name of the state that the crime occurred in, so we can research the laws which apply to that state. If we have to guess the name of your state, then the chances of providing you with accurate information is about once out of every fifty tries. As you can see, these are not very good odds to have to beat to provide accurate advice.
So, for the very last time, out of all fifty states, between New York to Hawaii, what is the name of the state you are posting from?

 

[outonbail]

Hint: A good way to tell what state you're in, is to go outside and look at the license plate on your car. If your license plate looks like all the other license plates in the neighborhood, then provide the name that's printed on your license plate. You could even tell us the state motto and we'd have a good idea of where you are posting from. Does your license plate read, "The Show Me State" or The "Sunshine State" or the "Garden State" or maybe something really stupid like, "Oklahoma is OK"?

 

[JoeDoe123]

I apologize. This occurred in Delaware

 

[JoeDoe123]

Any advice on what he can do?

 

[outonbail]

Any advice on what he can do?

If the police had his car towed for no reason he can file a claim for the charges he put out to reclaim it from the impound yard. But personally I believe there is more to the story than your friend is telling.
He should get a copy of the police report before he does anything and see what the report has to say about the car being impounded. Unfortunately, the report will probably only be released to his attorney, but he can ask for it, you never know.
But there has to be a code or specific authority under which the police towed his vehicle. "Domestic" doesn't fit this description.

Did he drive the car when he went to pick up the pizza? I think your going to discover that somewhere he was driving the car and didn't park it legally or something along these lines. But I don't believe the police just got a hair up their butt to tow your friends car and so they did it for no justifiable reason,,, it just doesn't make any sense.

 

[JoeDoe123]

The pizza place was 2 blocks away so there is no way he was driving. Plus the fact the incident happened starting at the pizza place when they both ran home. The car wasn't in use.

I have whatever forms he got faxed over to me and nothing deals with the towing of the car.

That said it's a minor issue compared to the real issue at hand. But in your mind is it possible to show that if the office acted with reckless disregard to the law, that the arrest was vindictive? Either way I am assuming he needs a good lawyer?

 

[CdwJava]

The pizza place was 2 blocks away so there is no way he was driving. Plus the fact the incident happened starting at the pizza place when they both ran home. The car wasn't in use.

I doubt the officer towed it on a whim. I suspect there was some cause to make him believe it was involved, and I'm going to guess that if "domestic" was the reason for the tow, DE has some state law permitting the seizure of vehicles involved in these disputes. Your friend should consult that attorney who can read the police report and sort out what is happening.

That said it's a minor issue compared to the real issue at hand. But in your mind is it possible to show that if the office acted with reckless disregard to the law, that the arrest was vindictive? Either way I am assuming he needs a good lawyer?

In what way did he act in "reckless disregard"? In what way was the arrest "vindictive"?

If he improperly towed the car, your friend can make a claim to the agency for all the associated costs of the impound and he might have a claim for damages against the agency ... provided he wants to press them and can afford the attorney.

And an arrest requires probable cause. Why was it "vindictive"? If there was insufficient probable cause for the arrest the case could be dismissed. If there was insufficient cause and a reasonable officer would not have made an arrest under those circumstances (or the law clearly forbids such an arrest) then your friend might have grounds for a civil suit against the agency.

So far, he has made a complaint. Now, he needs to beat the charges against him. Then, he needs to consult an attorney to see if there is a civil claim. If the attorney wants his or her pay up front, then his case is not all that strong or not worth that much.

- Carl

 

[outonbail]

The pizza place was 2 blocks away so there is no way he was driving.

There is no rule in determining how many blocks away from the pizza place you must live before you can drive there.

Plus the fact the incident happened starting at the pizza place when they both ran home. The car wasn't in use.

You want to know another thing I find strange about this vehicle being towed and your friend going there, paying two hundred dollars and getting it released. When the police impound a vehicle, the only party the towing company can legally release the vehicle to, is the registered or legal owner of the vehicle. This would have been your friend's employer correct?
Regardless, like I said, if the police had no legal authority to tow the company vehicle which your friend drives, then his company can file a claim with the city clerk, for the charges incurred due to the unlawful impounding of their vehicle by the city's police force. If the city refuses to pay the charges, then his company can take the City to small claims court and have a judge order it. But if it's not your friend's vehicle, I don't believe he can be suing the city for it being illegally towed. He can be a witness and testify on behalf of the company, but I believe the company would be the one who would have to file the claim.

I have whatever forms he got faxed over to me and nothing deals with the towing of the car.

Well I don't recognize what the "whatever forms" are that you are referring to. But they may not mention the reason for the vehicle being towed, or even the fact that it was towed at all, if it wasn't his vehicle.

That said it's a minor issue compared to the real issue at hand. But in your mind is it possible to show that if the office acted with reckless disregard to the law, that the arrest was vindictive? Either way I am assuming he needs a good lawyer?

Yes, he needs a good lawyer. As far as my mind, I would assume the arrest was made because of the statements provided by his girlfriend or ex girlfriend or whoever the hell she is and possibly because of any bruising or marks that may have been visible on her as well. So I think it would be a real stretch to go with the claim that the police arrested him for vindictive reasons.

In fact, what exactly are these vindictive reasons your talking about? Maybe I'm missing something here, because I'm not seeing them?

Bottom line, were all playing what if and maybe games which don't really accomplish anything. He needs to read the police report so he can start addressing the facts rather than hypothetical scenarios.