Police Commission Takes Up Impound Policy

A state analyst's memo added another wrinkle to an already complicated issue -- how the LAPD should handle vehicle impounds.

As the LA Police Commission considered proposed changes to the policy at its Tuesday meeting, a Legislative Counsel Bureau analyst raised questions about the department's proposed changes. The bureau, which provides legal opinions to state lawmakers, states that once an officer decides to impound a vehicle of a driver who has never been issued a license, the vehicle should be impounded for 30 days.

That's in contrast to Chief Charlie Beck's proposal, under consideration Tuesday by the commission. Under current law, if an unlicensed driver is stopped by police, the vehicle is impounded for 30 days -- a penalty that Beck said is too harsh in some circumstances.

If a person does not have a license, but does have insurance valid identification and no prior convictions, the police chief's plan would follow a section of the state's vehicle code that allows the owner to be cited, then given a certain amount of time to have the vehicle retrieved. The proposal only applies to first-time offenders.

Two current impound laws are used "interchangeably and inconsistently" by officers throughout the city, Beck said.

The union representing LAPD officers says the 30-day requirement keeps roads safer.

"People who are unlicensed are involved in more traffic collisions, and traffic collisions are deadly," said L.A. Protective League President Tyler Izen.

But critics claim a 30-day impound has unfairly impacted undocumented immigrants who cannot get a driver’s license. The proposed change would allow drivers to retrieve their impounded car after only one day.

"There is no free pass," said Beck. "We will still enforce the law. Absolutely."

Under the less severe option, an unlicensed driver would need to show valid ID, proof of insurance and proof of no prior convictions of driving without a license. If that documentation cannot be provided, the vehicle would be impounded for the full 30 days.

The change is meant, in part, to address concerns of bias, according to the LAPD. But even some immigrant advocates feel it doesn't do enough.

"Many people, to manage their daily lives, are forced to drive without a license and can incur multiple violations," attorney Marisa Nunzio told the panel Tuesday. "The proposal therefore leaves them in the same place that they're currently in."

Both sides agree that the problem may be solved if undocumented immigrants were tested and then given driver's licenses. That issue could come up later this year in the California legislature.