Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Virginia
Minor children left by police after towing vehicle.
My daughters 14 & 16 were in my car with their friend whom they thought had a valid drivers license. The town policeman pulled them over because he said he knew the young man had a previously suspended license. He then had my daughters exit the vehicle and proceeded to have my vehicle towed. Both of my daughters and the young man asked to call me and they were told it was policy to have the vehicle towed and they couldn't call me. He then left my daughters standing on the side of the road in the rain. They had to walk to the town firehall to call someone to pick them up. I called the next day and asked him why he failed to notify call me he stated he didn't have time to call everyones parents and make sure they knew where their kids were. I asked for his supervisors name and he told me he was the chief of police and the supervisor. I then called the mayor on Monday and he said the policeman had come to him and advised him of the situation and said he was wrong and should have notified me and they would make sure from now on all kids parents were notified. Is there anything I can do legally?They are still trying to make me pay all these fees to get my car back when their officer endangered the safety of my daughters.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Minor children left by police after towing vehicle.
First, this is really not the right category for the question. But getting your car back is a different story. The only justification for towing the car is that there was no valid driver. The police would not allow the car to be driven knowing the license is no good. I don't think there is any valid basis for them to charge YOU with any fees. It is the driver's fault.
If they are just the towing fees, they might have an argument that there was a need to tow YOUR vehicle so it is your fee. The fastest way to get your car back is to pay the fees. Fees will probably increase by the day.
But something you could try is to file a "Warrant in Detinue" in General District Court to demand your car back. It is likely that when the judge hears the situation he may side with you and order the car returned without you having to pay any fees. However, that is risky. The fees may increase by the day and it may take a week or two to get a hearing date on the Warrant in Detinue.
As to the police officer's misbehavior, in terms of a private lawsuit for money for example, this probably is one of those cases where if something HAD happened you could have a valid lawsuit, but because the girls were okay, you have no damages. That sounds horrible, but it is a princple of the law. If someone is swerving around on the road and ALMOST hits you, you cannot sue because they did not actually hit you. So if you sued, I am not sure what the damages would be.
I would have to think about it some more. There might be some creative ways to approach it, such as "intentional infliction of emotional distress" or something (which is a very hard lawsuit to prove in Virginia.)
Politically, it is certainly an obvious complaint that you can raise holy hell about at the town meetings, etc. It makes no sense to demand a change in the policy and some discipline perhaps internally.
You could bring it up with your Delegate and Senator in the General Assembly.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
