Posted on 03/12/2011 12:47:45 PM PST by moonshinner_09
Under criticism that it was unfairly targeting undocumented immigrants, the Los Angeles Police Department on Friday announced changes to its rules for impounding cars of unlicensed drivers at sobriety checkpoints.
Previously, LAPD officers at such checkpoints followed stringent protocols that called for them to impound a car whenever the driver was found not to have a valid license, regardless of whether the driver had been drinking.
Those rules have drawn the ire of immigration advocacy groups that said they disproportionately targeted undocumented immigrants, who are not able to obtain licenses legally in nearly all U.S. states. Once a vehicle is impounded, law enforcement agencies often require it to remain locked up for at least a month and charge the owner hefty fees to release it.
The new LAPD guidelines soften the department's stance somewhat. Police will be required to make an attempt to contact the registered owner of the stopped vehicle. If the owner is a licensed driver and can respond to the checkpoint in "a reasonable period of time," the officers will release the car to him or her. If the owner is unlicensed, officers will permit another person who is a licensed driver to take the car.
If no one with a license is available, police will impound a vehicle. In any case, police will issue a citation to the unlicensed driver.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Sobriety checkpoints are evil and unconstitutional anyway. They are against everything America has ever stood for.
No, it’s all about corruption. We are becoming like Mexico.
Our system of law and order in this nation has been shattered and all due to political expediency. There’s no justice because our laws are not enforced equally.
That is key: equal enforcement of laws and equal justice.
Two citizens have died because of traffic accidents involving illegal aliens in my small community here in Washington state. The men were released and fled the state before all evidence of their crimes had even been collected.
Outrage will accumulate at this injustice until eventually the situation explodes.
It used to be foreigner wanted to come here and become a citizen because the police were uncorrupt and could be trusted. That trust toward the police is no longer true for the greater part of the U.S. population.
I don’t know how it’s done these days. In the old says a driver wanting to pick up a car from impound had to go get a release from the the LAPD. They way around this is you are unlicensed is to sign a power of attorney for a friend to pick it up for you. In the case of illegals, chances are their pals have no valid ID either.
As far as insurance. If the owner has it any driver would be covered. There have been lawsuits over damage done by car thieves who have stolen cars owned by uninsured.
I don’t want to be treated like a citizen, just treat me like an illegal alien!
well...ya know...it is pretty hard for an m-13 gang member to ply his drug trade with wheels mang....qué demonios !
Ping!
Poor dummy CA slob citizens have to get a license and insurance and are required to smog check their cars every other year to renew their auto registration.
It isn’t nice that illegal aliens never have to bother with all that stuff and not the LAPD is giving them a pat on the head?
Whatta country!
Undocumented Democrat voters?
How 'bout an undocumented POTUS?
My adult son was stopped recently and found to his surprise, that his California driver’s license was expired. He was lucky that his wife was with him at the time, and that she was listed as one of the registered owners of the vehicle, because the cops told them that absent that fact, they would have to take his vehicle. Both my son and I have been “victimized” by the CA DMV. I too found, when using my DL as identification for a recent purchase, that my license was 15 months beyond it’s expiration. When I renewed, I asked why I had not received a notice in the mail as has always been the case. It turns out that I had applied a couple of years back for a Motorcycle endorsement, but had not taken the required road test. That put my license in limbo and resulted in no notification. Who knew? Looks like the illegals get a pass for being illegal, what a state!
It disproportionately targets those who are serial lawbreakers? Cry me a river.
Illegals drink disproportionately.
What I simply cannot understand is how authorities can justify double standards. Illegals routinely get a pass on things that get the rest of us into real trouble. A few years ago Maricopa County Arizona actually had a seperate DWI/traffic court for minorities, they recieved lesser fines and sentences than at the regular court. The liberal thinking that created that was the belief that due to cultural differences Latinos and Native Americans had more issues with alcohol and therefor should not be held as accountable for their actions. Enough people found out what was going on and put a stop to it. Craziness!!! One of my daughters was rear-ended and the other driver fled the scene, the police that responded said it was likely an illegal and didn’t seem excited that the man hit and ran...the officer told my daughter it was “part of their culture”. Really? Hit and run is part of a culture?
Good move! Next step, providing cars TO unlicensed illegal alien drivers? Helping unlicensed drivers fill their tanks with free gas? Providing free baby seats for "Anchor Babies?" ¡Qué viva Aztlán!
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