The case of Airman Brian Furman, the Iraq war veteran whose car was impounded by Denver, has caused a firestorm on talk radio and needless suspicion of the city’s motives.
We can’t help but point out that this case reinforces the argument we made last year, when we opposed a ballot initiative that attempted to boost the number of impounded cars — namely, micromanaging the work of law enforcement is counterproductive for both police and residents.
Not that police impounded Furman’s car because of the ordinance. An officer used his discretion to tow a car he’d stopped that had a broken headlight and was then, in the officer’s view, parked unsafely.
City officials claim that records show Furman’s Missouri driver’s license expired in 2005.
Even before the impound ordinance was passed, this would have been enough to tow the car. And, as it happens, the impound ordinance was written so loosely that it failed to eliminate police discretion.
The irony is that had the ordinance been written without loopholes, lots of people no less sympathetic than Furman would be having their vehicles towed and face the same burdensome fees and inconvenience.
Defenders of Furman, an enlisted airman who recently returned from a 13-month deployment in Iraq, have pointed to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, formerly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act, which offers protections to servicemen whose licenses expire. They believe he was able to drive.
Even if this is true — and the city vigorously disputes this interpretation of federal law — the ballot measure allows no discretion on a $2,500 bonding requirement, which has been especially controversial among rental-car companies and firms that finance vehicle purchases.
The Denver City Council will hold a public hearing on June 1 to discuss issues relating to such businesses. Those private firms often hold loans on impounded cars. They claim that the law unfairly eats into profits by requiring them to post the bond to get back cars that have been abandoned at the impound lot.
The council also agreed to talk more about ways to ease the burden on any motorists who may be unfairly affected by the law. We wish the impound ordinance had never passed. Now we hope the council can make some sense of the resulting mess.
