Supporters of an Iraqi war veteran who argue a Denver police officer’s seizure of his car was unjust have pointed repeatedly to a federal law that extends protections to those engaged in active military service.
The only problem with that theory is that the federal law they cite actually wouldn’t have any bearing on the case of Airman Brian Furman, the Denver city attorney’s office said today.
The ongoing debate about Furman’s case has highlighted a controversial new impound law voters approved last year. Supporters pushed the ballot initiative last year, hoping it would take away police discretion on vehicle impounds.
They wanted to keep illegal immigrants from driving on city streets, but critics contend the proposal was clumsily worded and they object to a new $2,500 bond that is required to get a car out of impound once it is seized for having an unlicensed driver.
Other detractors also say officers should have discretion on when to seize a car driven by an unlicensed driver and that requiring them to impound in every instance will become a huge bureaucratic headache.
The city ended up deciding that clumsy wording in the ballot initiative means police still will have discretion on when to enforce an impound, but the new $2,500 bond the ballot initiative said would be required to free a vehicle from the impound lot would be instituted.
Furman’s case has been highlighted by opponents as an example of the havoc the law has the potential to cause Denver drivers.
A Denver police officer ordered Furman’s car seized March 13 after it was stopped for a broken headlight. Furman, now 27, had returned from a 13-month tour of duty in Iraq, and thought his active military duty license would be sufficient.
City officials say records show Furman’s Missouri drivers’ license expired in 2005 and was not valid at the time of the traffic stop.
Supporters of the airman have pointed to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, formerly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act, as offering Furman certain protections they believe would allow him to drive in Denver without a new drivers’ license at the time of the traffic stop.
But the city attorney’s office has researched that law. passed in 1944 to protect service members activated in World War II, and all other federal, state and local laws. The office’s conclusion: Neither that law, nor any others, provide the protections Furman’s supporters say it does.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act does allow active military personnel to drive military vehicles in the official course of business without a drivers’ license. It also allows officers, depending on the state, to extend a valid drivers’ license from one state to another state where they are stationed.
But it doesn’t allow a person whose drivers’ license has expired or whose drivers’ license has been revoked to drive without a valid drivers’ license in Colorado, said Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell today.
“We have been unable to find any law that would allow him to drive under a license that expired years ago,” Broadwell said.
The Denver police operational manual also states that active military personnel engaged in civilian activity should be treated no differently than other drivers.
Furman, reached briefly today, said it’s a little more complicated but said he didn’t have time at that time to detail what exactly happened to his Missouri license. He said the expiration of the license actually occurred while he was deployed overseas and was unable to appear in court for a traffic ticket, an explanation that doesn’t jive with the records city officials cite.
The Denver District Attorney’s office dismissed the pending traffic charges stemming from the March 13 traffic stop months ago. Since then Furman’s car has sat at the impound lot, while impound fees have continued to compound until the cost to get it out reached nearly $4,000.
The city’s impound lot, which is controlled by a separate set of laws distinct from the traffic system, told Furman it planned to sell his car next month if he didn’t come up with the money.
Then television station Fox 31 highlighted the airman’s plight, highlighting the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Radio talk show host Peter Boyles also took up the cause. On Wednesday, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper took to the airwaves, too, telephoning Boyles during his early morning talk show.
Hickenlooper told Boyles, on air, that the city had waived all but $400 of the remaining $4,000 in impound costs. The remaining $400 would have to be paid to a bond man, who would post a $2,500 bond to get the car out of the impound lot.
The mayor agreed to split the remaining $400 with Boyles.
Furman, during a brief telephone interview, said he had found a bondsman to post the bond for $400. He added that he was on the way to the impound lot to pick up his vehicle.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
