![[The Brazil Times nameplate]](http://www.thebraziltimes.com/images/nameplate.png)
|
|
Overcast ~ High: 37°F Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 |
|
Abandoned vehicle noticePosted Friday, May 1, 2009, at 2:20 PM
Starting Friday and continuing throughout the summer months, the Brazil Police Department will be tagging abandoned vehicles within city limits.
Some people have "project cars" sitting in their yards or on their properties that don't run, but owners have intentions to fix them up when money allows. The problem we find with this is the money will never allow, and if it doesn't allow right now and your neighbors don't like looking at old broken down cars cluttering up the neighborhood and causing property values to drop it becomes a problem. There is also a health and safety issues with non-operational vehicles because stray animals, snakes or rodents can take up residence inside. Tagging and towing disabled vehicles is not a favorite pastime of police officers. We don't enjoy arguing with vehicle owners about why we had to tag their particular vehicle, and we don't get any extra money for doing it. Officers who receive a paycheck from the City of Brazil are bound to enforce the laws and ordinances within the city and will do so. These types of non-operational vehicles are classified as "Junk/Abandoned" vehicles by Indiana state statute. (See the statues at the end.) When an officer observes a vehicle they believe has remained in one place for 20 days without being moved, the officer is required to place a 72-hour sticker on the vehicle to notify the vehicle's owner that it may be towed. The owner then has 72 hours to contact the officer whose signature appears on the tagged the vehicle to prove that the vehicle is operational or make arrangements to repair and make the vehicle operable. Operational means all the vehicle's tires must be inflated, it must start without the owner having to raise the hood, it must be able to move forward and backward under its own power and the vehicle's windows must not have fractures that block the drivers view. The vehicle must be mechanically safe enough to drive on a public roadway. Also, in addition to this, if the vehicle is parked on the street it must be properly registered and insured with current license plates affixed to the rear bumper. If the vehicle is not proven to be operable within the 72-hour period, the officer will contact a local towing service to have it removed from the property (even if the sticker has been removed). This includes vehicles parked on private property when the vehicle is viewable to the public. The vehicle owner, in order to retain the vehicle after the 72-hour-period, must either make it operational, enclose it within a fenced area that blocks it from public view or move it into an enclosed building or garage where it is not viewable from the public. Covering the vehicle with a tarp, car cover or cloth is not acceptable and will not protect the vehicle from being removed from the property by the police. Here are a few things that can be done if a vehicle on your property is tagged: * Make the proper repairs to the vehicle and contact the officer so that he can visually see the vehicle operate, * Move the vehicle into a garage or structure that blocks it from public view, * Contact the officer if you are working on getting the vehicle compliant and request a few extra days. (Officers can not give an extended amount of time for a vehicle owner to become compliant however; a few extra days may be given at the officer's discretion), and * Remove the vehicle from the property on your own if you can't become compliant.
Do NOT remove the tag on your own and think the problem will go away. Officers will enforce the laws and removing the tags will not stop it from happening. While most officers will attempt to work with someone if they can, no officer will want to work with you if you go behind them and remove the tag without contacting them. Officers view this as defiance and will follow the course of action as if the tag was still there. The tag is for notification purposes only; the officer already knows the vehicle is there. If a vehicle is tagged incorrectly and is actually operational (this sometimes happens when a vehicle has not moved for an extended period of time), do not remove the tag, contact the officer who signed the tag and show him that a mistake was made. The officer will remove the tag upon verifying compliance. If you do not contact the officer to allow him to verify compliance, he will upon the expiration of the 72 hours, contact a tow company to remove the vehicle. The vehicle may not be removed on the 73rd hour however it can be removed any time after the 72 hour tag expires without further notification. Also if you place the vehicle in a building or garage to become compliant, the door on the building must be closed in order to shield the vehicle from the view of the public. (A carport will not suffice; the building must completely enclose and shield the vehicle from public view).
A copy of the State laws that pertain to tagging and removing vehicles are as follows: BRAZIL POLICE DEPARTMENT: ABANDONED / JUNK VEHICLE
Indiana Code 9-13-2-1 Abandoned vehicle Sec. 1. "Abandoned vehicle" means the following: (1) A vehicle located on public property illegally. (2) A vehicle left on public property without being moved for three (3) days. (3) A vehicle located on public property in such a manner as to constitute a hazard or obstruction to the movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic on a public right-of-way. (4) A vehicle that has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of that property for more than forty-eight (48) hours. (5) A vehicle from which the engine, transmission, or differential has been removed or that is otherwise partially dismantled or inoperable and left on public property. (6) A vehicle that has been removed by a towing service or public agency upon request of an officer enforcing a statute or an ordinance other than this chapter if the impounded vehicle is not claimed or redeemed by the owner or the owner's agent within twenty (20) days after the vehicle's removal. (7) A vehicle that is at least three (3) model years old, is mechanically inoperable, and is left on private property continuously in a location visible from public property for more than twenty (20) days. IC 9-22-1-2 Officer defined Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "officer" means the following: (1) A regular member of the state police department. (2) A regular member of a city or town police department. (3) A town marshal or town marshal deputy. (4) A regular member of the county police force. (5) An individual of an agency designated by ordinance of the fiscal body.
IC9-22-1-8 Release to owner or lien holder of stored vehicle Sec. 8. If the properly identified person who owns or holds a lien on a vehicle appears at the site of storage before disposal of the vehicle or parts and pays all costs incurred against the vehicle or parts at that time, the vehicle or parts shall be released. IC 9-22-1-11 Tagging abandoned vehicle or parts Sec. 11. An officer who finds or is notified of a vehicle or parts believed to be abandoned shall attach in a prominent place a notice tag containing the following information: (1) The date, time, officer's name, public agency, and address and telephone number to contact for information. (2) That the vehicle or parts are considered abandoned. (3) That the vehicle or parts will be removed after: (A) thirty-six (36) hours, if the vehicle is located on or within the right-of-way of an interstate highway or any highway that is designated as part of the state highway system under IC 8-23-4; or (B) seventy-two (72) hours, for any other vehicle. IC 9-22-1-14 Duties of tagging officer; towing and storage of vehicle or parts Sec. 14. (a) If in the opinion of the officer the market value of the abandoned vehicle or parts determined in accordance with section 12 of this chapter is at least: (1) five hundred dollars ($500); or (2) in a municipality that has adopted an ordinance under section 13(b) of this chapter, the amount established by the ordinance; the officer, before placing a notice tag on the vehicle or parts, shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain the person who owns the vehicle or parts or who may be in control of the vehicle or parts. (b) After seventy-two (72) hours, the officer shall require the vehicle or parts to be towed to a storage yard or towing service. As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.92-1997, SEC.3; P.L.104-2005, SEC.5. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
Brazil City Police Department's Information site  - Archives - Blog RSS feed ![[Feed icon]](http://www.thebraziltimes.com/images/icons/feed-icon-14x14.png){kind=icon} - Comments RSS feed - Login Hot topics Talking trash(4 ~ 9:26 PM, Apr 22)
Abandoned vehicle notice
Addressing Animal Anxieties
Sending everyone a Thankful, Happy and Safe Holiday Reminder
Questions answered, holiday safety and a welcome back
|
Email link
Read comments (17)
Blog archive
I really hope that the City follows thru on this. We have heard this so many times before. From my rear window I can see three vehicles that have moved only once in a year. From a side window three more that have never moved since towed there. I guess I just don't understand why people feel they have to have a couple junk cars in their yard... Lawn ornaments??
I also can't wait to read the outraged posts... How dare they come on my property and tow my car??? The Government is taking away my rights to... Junk up the neighborhood, trash the property values, do whatever I want without considering anyone but myself...
Yeah, this sounds good but I will still have to wait and see if anything really happens.
wow i cant believe we will be paying for this kind of protection guess we have no more crimes or murders to solve in this town got any more jobs like this for us? i'll take one if its that easy. just cant believe anyone would want to pay them so much money with benefits and all when some people just cant afford to fix them because they are out of a job with this recession to have them tell us we are gonna do it even with the vehicle plated and registered with insurance as mandated by another law well i see its time we had a new mayor and police of chief in town because they arent for the best interests of town. If you dont believe me see how many vacant homes we have have in town anymore and fewer jobs too and we have to worry about cars parked for how long, now dont get me wrong there are some that have parts missing or wrecks but lets get our priorities straight Protect and serve isnt that the motto or is it a police state here in town i wonder sometimes
It is truly sad that a person would gripe over something like this. I am very pleased that our over-worked and underpaid officers are taking the time to clean up the city, all the while still keeping us protected. Good job Dave.
I am a fan of Dave Archer, and I am happy that he received this promotion to Chief of Police. At the same time, I think that he has to control his officers especially pertaining to "judgement calls".
What I am about to relate happened before his command, but yet it shows what kind of havoc that can happen when ordinances are enforced "to the letter of the law".
I am the owner of more than one vehicle. Obviously I can only drive one at a time. Not long ago, the vehicle I chose not to drive for a brief time (less than ten days if that long) was a Cadillac. This Cadillac was only 7 years old at the time and the body was in mint condition. It also was in running condition. But like I said, it had not been moved away from the curb for a week or a few days more, and guess what...it got tagged! I hardly think anyone would have considered this vehicle to be an eyesore, but when the ordiance is strictly interpreted it could have been in violation I guess. But is this what we should be allowing our police officers to do?
It really burns me still because I could take you to a piece of property right on Forest Avenue, inside the city limits, that has two vehicles that haven't budged in over three years (maybe more), one of them in the back yard barely visible for the weeds grown up around it. There is no way that these vehicles have escaped the notice of the local police. So what gives?
over worked and under paid geez guy look at all these benefits these guys reap and i cant see how thier job is any dangerous as a iron worker or coal miner just look at the accident rate ohh i forgot you cant miss your cubbie game to know whats actually going on .
Wished i had these benefits these guys get , maybe i would be in a higher standard living that they have . do you actually know what all benefits such as thier pensions and medical pays them when they retire along with social security? we could never compare to it think its about time we cut some of their benfits to reduce our deficit since government is a business and operated as such wow we may have our deficit whittled down just like corporations have done when they downsized to save money
Personally, to start; I believe Chief Archer & BPD and Sheriff Heaton & CCSD do outstanding jobs for our communities ~
There have been several articles discussing cleaning up our community ~ "cleaning up" includes vacant decrepit homes as well as abandoned vehicles ~ all of you need to read Chief Archer's blog carefully ~ he states that these issues can be resolved ~ all a person has to do is contact the Officer issuing the tag ~
And, to brazil citizen, law enforcement jobs are extremely dangerous ~ ever face an individual high on meth or one toting a gun?? They have & they do ~ it's not fun ~ & their benefits which you believe are so wonderful will never make up for the loss of an Officer's life ~ try walking in their shoes before making judgements ~
Right, this is going to fix all the problems, we have two of the trashiest looking places, owned by the same person, FULL of junk cars, trucks, busses whatever, one is on the east end to be sure its the first impression of the city visitors get, just like the piddly little things the city does for attention, leave the big fish out in the open while doing some little insignificant BS to get it in the paper like they're really on top of it all, when its nothing, clean up main street first, then maybe the citizens would feel more like following the example. Do some real accomplishments
OMG, I can't believe all the trashing of our law enforcement that I am reading simply because they are going to do their job! Part of policing is to enforce ALL laws, not just the traffic, drugs, violence, etc. These officers get paid (and not very well) to do all aspects of the job, no matter how menial, trivial, dangerous, and down right life threatening it is. And I have seen several mentions of their "benefits" which is laughable at best! Why don't you call up an officer and ask them to explain their "benefits package" to you. Because I assure you, its not that great and certainly not worthy of the danger they put themselves in each and every time they even pull over a vehicle!
And to BRAZILCITIZEN: by enforcing the law, these officers are "protecting and serving" our community. Part of the responsibilities of a community is to care for our neighbors and neighborhoods. Broken down vehicles only decrease our property value and place children and pets in danger. If you can't afford to fix it, then you appearently can't afford to insure it or drive it either, therefore, you shouldn't miss it too much. Either fix it or sell it. My property value shouldn't be affected because you can't fix up some rust bucket!
To Brazil City Police and Chief Archer: I enjoy seeing the steps you are making to improve ALL aspects of life in our city. You are trying your best to decrease the drug use, direct and control traffic, clean up our city, and much more! Kudo's to you and ignore the ignorant.. if they are upset because your officers are going to do their jobs, then perhaps its only because they are in violation of the law that will be enforced!
LOL....I'll say what I said when Kenny Crabb was Mayor and an officer tagged one of my vehicles in my driveway.
Unless you have documented proof that the vehicle has been under constant, repeat, constant observation for 480 hours and has not moved, tag one of mine so I can sue you for harassment. A police officer cannot know if a vehicle that he sees in the same place every day or even every hour has or has not moved if there is no outward sign such as wheels missing or weeds growing out from under it. Looking around the police station at shift change, I can observe many police cars that may or may not be operational. Driving by many houses, you will see many cars parked in the same place every day at the same time of day. If you go by the homes of our city officials twenty days in a row at 2:00 in the morning, how many vehicles could you observe sitting in about the same place evey time. Should those cars be tagged? They would not look like they have moved, so a police officer, to do his duty, should be tagging them......LOL!
This is not a law that can be enforced. First of all, it presumes guilt before innocence on what can only be limited evidence. In this nation, excepting laws written such as this one, the presumption is "innocent until proven guilty", this one obviously has not been challenged in the judicial system as of yet. Second, the provision that vehicles of less than three model years are exempt is prejudicial. This law, as written, is far too open to use as a method or means of harassment.
Enforcing this particular law without a vehicle having weeds grown up around it, flat or missing tires, or some other obvious sign that it has not and cannot move is a waste of police resources and does nothing but waste the money of the taxpayers. It is also a good way to involve the city in a lawsuit that will cost even more. A rusty old vehicle that your neighbor drives daily affects your property values just as much as one that doesn't. A 2008 vehicle that is a burnt hulk, sitting in your neighbor's yard would be just as bad, but is exempt from being towed.
What a waste of money, time, and effort on the part of the Brazil Police Department. Spend these things on traffic enforcement and solving the real crimes in our city!
The city and Police Department needs to consider these things and write an ordinance that allows the removal of those vehicles that are obviously "junk", regardless of model year, instead of this ill-written State statute. Like so many other people, I too can sit and observe several from my property. But, I also realize that I can see many driving down the road that look even worse than the ones I see sitting.......LOL!
LOL.........perhaps I should take one of my game cameras and "stake out" the Chief's residence to see if there are any particular vehicles that are in the same place and position twenty days in a row, just to prove the absurdity of the statute......LOL!
Response to Leo:
How is "tagging" a vehicle harassment? By tagging a vehicle all it means is that, officers have reason to think this vehicle is non-working or abandoned. If that is incorrect, then all you have to do is make a phone call and have the officer come back out, and you just start and move it. No big deal and less than 5 minutes of your time. Doesn't sound like harassment to me. And I would be happy to spend 5 minutes of my time if it meant no one on my street would have junk vehicles all over their yards!
It would be different if they just came and towed away a car with no warning, but they tag a vehicle to give fair warning and so that an owner can fix the situation if its not warranted.
I want our city cleaned up and this is just a minor step, that may inconvenience a few people. Well, I'm willing to be inconvenienced, as i'm sure most law abiding citizens are.
It is harrassment if there are examples, right on a main artery into town (59) where two junk cars have sat and not moved for more than three years, one of them is a hearse, the other one is in the yard with weeds grown up around it, and these do NOT get tagged, yet my running and in perfect body condition Cadillac DOES! Now I will say that when I called the police, the officer was very respectful and understanding, and attributed the tagging because he was being "watched" by his supervisor...OK???
Again, I like and respect Chief Archer very much and this was not on his watch, but it is an example of how an ordinance can be abused by those who are in charge of enforcing it.
Believe me when I say...I want Brazil cleaned up as much as anyone, and I could give a long list on what should be done, but tagging nice looking, running cars is not how to achieve it!
CLEAN UP THE BIG JUNK YARDS FIRST!! You want people to get on the blog and say how much they respect you, I don't agree, Its in our face every day the two junk yards on 40, the PD get their name in the paper periodically just to look like they are trying to accomplish something, like not too long ago one officer got a whole article for an everyday dui arrest, what about all the meth, write an article about something really newsworthy, CLEAN UP THE REAL PROBLEMS, Dui is everyday. Real police work worthy of the paper would be cleaning up main street and getting meth off the streets, not hassling citizens who elect officials, thats little fish compared to whats the real problems, maybe thats all you can handle and for your information, there's no junk vehicles on my property.
FYI - brazilcitizen
Our police officers do not get paid LOTS OF MONEY as you put it. If you think that their life is not in danger then maybe you should try to arrest a drug user that doesn't want to be arrested. The police officers in this town have alot to do and enforce. They are human and can make mistakes. This town needs cleaned up. The old cars sitting around and the abandoned houses that are falling down. It takes time to get everything in order and this is a start. If you want a old car sitting in your yard then move to the country!!!!
As far as you having an easy job, maybe you should just go get a job and get off from welfare...that would help the state deficit anyhow!!!!
Dave Archer is doing a fabulous job. Keep up the good work Dave!!!!!!!
Clean Up the Big Obvious Junk Yards, Maybe Citizens Would Be More Willing To Follow The Citys Lead,
Response to olmedic --
As Clay County Guy pointed out, the statute is not enforced uniformly, nor, as I pointed out, can it be with the resources of law enforcement.
Tagging a vehicle without substantial evidence that it has not moved is the same as an officer writing you a ticket for speeding without naming a time and place. There is a high probability that at some point in time that you have exceeded the limit, however, without a time and place the officer is presuming guilt without proof.
What is five minutes of a man's life worth in dollars and cents? I cannot put a price on it as every minute is priceless to me. I sure don't want to waste any of them proving that my vehicle runs and I don't want our law enforcement officers wasting theirs to watch a car move when they can be doing something a lot more productive.
Just how would you respond if they tagged your vehicle and ignored the "junk" vehicles down your street? That has happened to me. Cost me time and effort, but did nothing to solve the problem of "abandoned" vehicles in Brazil.
Leo L Southworth, is there any subject that you think you're not an expert in? Exactly which law school did you attend? Didn't see attorney listed on your resume with your other 10 or 15 jobs.