Fairview cracks down on tow truck drivers

by Casey Parks, The Oregonian

Ken Johnson was fed up. The complaint calls kept coming in. In apartment complexes and mobile-home parks across Fairview, the city's police chief says, tow truck drivers were acting like predators.

"They were always watching," Johnson says. "They staked out, waiting for people to do something even slightly wrong."

Tow drivers say they're following apartment owners' orders, but Johnson says the complaints were increasingly "ludicrous."

Last month, the city passed an ordinance, effective Jan. 2, prohibiting tow truck drivers from patrolling private parking facilities. Violations will cost truck drivers $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for each additional offense.

"I absolutely hate the word predatory," Retriever Towing owner Gary Coe says. "It is patrol towing, and we only patrol those properties that we are requested to. It's easy for whoever got towed to say it's predatory. It's not. They parked where they're not supposed to. We have proof in pictures. But we're in an era where no one wants to accept responsibility for their errors."

The tense relationship between tow companies and police officers came to light earlier this month after a tow truck driver in Wilsonville insisted that a domestic violence victim pay a drop fee to get her car back. The woman had left the car with the flashers on to seek help. Not even a Clackamas County sheriff deputy could persuade the driver to release the car.

After fielding 600 complaints, Retriever refunded the money.

But Fairview police say they've been receiving countless complaints about towing companies this year. Handicapped women phoned in, saying they were towed while attempting to take groceries inside their homes. Cars parked just over a line were snatched up within minutes, Johnson says.

And then a man, angry his car was being towed, threatened a tow truck driver with a shotgun.

"That's when I knew if we didn't step in and do something, it was going to escalate even further," Johnson says.

He says not all of those towed are victims. And the shotgun-toting man was arrested. But police say the towing companies had gotten out of hand.

"If they had used common sense, looked for things to protect health and safety, we wouldn't have had to do this," Johnson said, pointing to a picture of a car whose tire just barely touched a parking line. "That's not health and safety. And the only way we're going to stop it is to regulate it."

City councilors considered instituting larger fees — up to $10,000 — but ultimately decided to see whether the smaller fines will change the situation. If complaints don't drop, Johnson says the city will consider increasing fees or even criminal charges.

Coe says his company still has not been notified of the new rules, but he thinks the restrictions may be illegal.

Instead of generating tows by patrolling, Johnson says property owners must now call a company and report violations. A similar Portland law allows property owners to contract with drivers to patrol. Fairview's doesn't.

"Department managers don't want to be out there patrolling the lot every few hours to make sure their fire lanes or clear or the garbage trucks are available," Coe said. "Once we tell the property owners that we can't provide that service, I think they're going to come unglued."

--Casey Parks; caseyparks@news.oregonian.com

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