Legal to tow your vehicle when there is no sighn???

[cheferson]

Today i parked in a legal parking area near my work in narrgansett. It was marked 2 hour parking 8-4. Parked there at 230 , so should be all set. Today there was also a road race, top half of the street was clearly marked and cordoned off , no parking , thought i was in the clear parked east of post office parking lot. There were no, 0, not a single no parking sighn in the area i was, and every other parking spot filled. GO to work , where i cant use my cell phone because of an open kitchen. Get through a busy friday night, check my voice mail 11pm. Gansett pd saying i need to move my truck or it will be towed, message at 345. Run down and look and its gone!!!!! Wtf. Go to pd and ask why i was towed. Because you were blocking race. There were no sighns i tell her, she said it doesnt matter it was posted in the paper!??!? I dont read the gansett times i said, her- doesnt matter..... Got my release form and there was another guy fom warwick who was towed too. Was he supposed to buy the gansett times to see no parking in that area??? WTF??

[luds]

wow. that sucks man.

[cheferson]

Then this am i call and speak to the capt. Explain very nicely the situation. He says there was no parking there, i said there was no sighns, like a normal police department like newport would put up the day before. He then asked why i didnt answer the phone and how they waited 2 hours. Told him why i didnt answer the call. Then he says i was in 15 minute parking which is bs. Then he throws out i was parked 3 feet from the curb and was blocking the road, BS, i was parked within the painted white boxes on the road. Also parking 3 feet from the curb is a $35 ticket, wheres my ticket then?? Telling me well lesson learned, wtf??!! Cant argue with those that will make anything up to cover there ass. Call the tow company, only a tidy $125!! That is all

Thanks and goodnight

[BW from AZ]

Sounds like you were tagged as an out of towner and an easy mark.....

[saltfly]

appeal the ticket in court and the tow fee?

[Raven]

and write down everything that was said...
in the PD....

also,, and this is kind of anal (i know) a suggestion

but snap a digital photo when in doubt....

thats when a good pic is worth more than
a 1000 words or $125.00 bucks.

[cheferson]

Got the truck from the impound lot , and the %$%$%$%$ing side view mirrow was scratched!! Then to top it off there was a $75 ticket for parking in a tow zone, even though 0 sighns say tow zone in the area. I also went to where i was parked to take photos and one of the parking sighns was taken out and laying on the ground, kinda shady!!!

[cheferson]

Originally Posted by BW from AZ

Sounds like you were tagged as an out of towner and an easy mark.....

Im a local and have been for over 5 years I have the other guys name who was parked next to me and also towed. Gonna see what there reason for towing him was. Im sure he was just as ripped as me.

[Nebe]

time to lawyer up...

[OLD GOAT]

Time to contact the Mayor and the local newspaper and write a letter to the editor and tell the local business close by that you won,t be doing business with them if your going to be getting tickets. I told an insurance company that i was going to cancel and low and behold it got all straitened out

[justplugit]

Sorry to hear, that's not right.

Going to court is a PIA, lost wages and they will prolly hold your case till last of the day,

especially if you have a lawyer and someone with the same offense is there
without a lawyer.

[Raven]

has a great point....

[basswipe]

What OLD GOAT said.

A little public outcry goes a long way in these situations.Get a few people who were also towed to do the same thing.Hell before you know it there's a big controversy,it becomes a subject at a town meeting etc.

[Swimmer]

Originally Posted by OLD GOAT

Time to contact the Mayor and the local newspaper and write a letter to the editor and tell the local business close by that you won,t be doing business with them if your going to be getting tickets. I told an insurance company that i was going to cancel and low and behold it got all straitened out

Do this....it will get quicker results. Or small claims court.

[RIROCKHOUND]

I agree.
Mayor, and maybe call/email the Times.
http://www.narragansetttimes.com/

[cheferson]

to top it off the parking sighn i took photos of laying on the ground the day after i was towed . Is now up where i was parked, making the previously 2 hour parking to now 12 minute for the post office. Im sure they will say it was always there. But I have photos!!! AHH AH AHHhhhhhh

[Swimmer]

Let us know how you make out.

[BillyBlanks]

Sorry to hear about it Chef. That's a real bummer. Gansett is beautiful, but parking can get hairy in the summer down there. I lived there for 4 years, I miss it. Are you going to take this to court? Is there any way you can, since you didn't get a ticket? Or maybe just cut your losses at $125 and save the hassle?

[cheferson]

i got a $75 ticket, plead not guilty

[cheferson]

I did what some people suggested and wrote a letter to the editor, they published it later that week. So i go to court tonight. I talk to judge, tell him my side and that i believe i was innocent, and the baileff butts in and says the captain wrote the ticket and wants to take this to trial. Great , guess the captain read it . If i get a lawyer and am found innocent will the town have to pay for my lawyer??? Im beginning to think i should have just paid the $75 , even though im 100% right. Its gonna be grubby kitchen guy vs THE CAPTAIN .... ANy advice???

[Nebe]

No need for a lawyer- just go and say there were no signs. What they did was beyond rediculous..

I read somewhere that the place you work at has had some issues about parking.... be careful that they dont make you a scape goat..

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by cheferson

I did what some people suggested and wrote a letter to the editor, they published it later that week. So i go to court tonight. I talk to judge, tell him my side and that i believe i was innocent, and the baileff butts in and says the captain wrote the ticket and wants to take this to trial. Great , guess the captain read it . If i get a lawyer and am found innocent will the town have to pay for my lawyer??? Im beginning to think i should have just paid the $75 , even though im 100% right. Its gonna be grubby kitchen guy vs THE CAPTAIN .... ANy advice???

Wanna borrow MY captains bars (Arrgh! )

good luck Chef.
stick it to the man!

[OLD GOAT]

A ticket by a captain doesn't make it any less wrong. IT WAS STILL AN ILEAGEL ACT. Shame on the captain trying to shove this down your throat. LET THE JUDGE KNOW WHAT YOU THINK AND LET THE NEWSPAPER KNOW WHEN YOUR GOING TO COURT. You could even put an add in the local paper telling everyone when the case is going to be heard. It just might be forgotten

[BW from AZ]

Originally Posted by cheferson

to top it off the parking sighn i took photos of laying on the ground the day after i was towed . Is now up where i was parked, making the previously 2 hour parking to now 12 minute for the post office. Im sure they will say it was always there. But I have photos!!! AHH AH AHHhhhhhh

Dont forget to ask for the cities sign maintenance records for that sign placement and its replacement. check the time and dates. they never do anything thats not in writing. your pic and their own documentation should do the trick. ask the court to have the city pay court costs. if you get a lawyer he should be included in your court costs.

[Jimbo]

I'm no armchair lawyer, but something seems awfully wrong about this. How can the bailiff speak for the policeman wrote the ticket? I would think he would either have to be called to show up in court, or obviously knowing that Chef was going to court, would have showed up himself. I sat in municipal court with my wife after she witnessed an accident and several times the judge had the policeman who wrote the ticket summoned, they waited until he showed up, then both told their side to the judge, then the person who got the ticket could decide to take it to the next level and fight it, hope the judge at least reduced it, or just pay the fine.
Chef, I don't know that you need Clarence Darrow on your side if you have your photo's, plus if you can get those records BW from AZ suggested. Maybe there's one of those practices around you that you don't pay if they don't get the decision.

[Nebe]

The resteraunt that Chef works at had some sort of parking issues with the town. I dont remember all of the details, but the resteraunt put up some signs that they didnt have permission for 'claiming' a bunch of parking spots that they did not have permission to use.. I have a hunch that if the police know that chef works at this resteraunt, they are going to hang hi out to dry and make an example out of him.. Dont forget that this is RI.. one of the most currupt states in the country and narragansett is high on the list of towns where many crooked politicians live. If these politicians knew that chef is tiptoeing through thier yards at night to go fishing, he will be looking at jail time.. (joking)

[cheferson]

Thanks for the advice guys. Nebe they dont know where i work, gonna keep that quiet. All that crap with my restaurant , is actually all Gilbane's ( the owner of all that property, we lease) doing. Im sure the police will go through their rolodex of reasons why i was towed, until they find one suitable for the judge. Im so aggrovated with all this.

[Nebe]

Chef, trust me.. If they wanted to find out anything about you, they will know where you work.

Good luck.. I hope you kick their butts.. You were illegally towed.

[cheferson]

FOund this today. Thanks Bill
What do you guys think??? I was not illegally parked? Even if i was how would it endanger public safety? What a pain in the ass!!!

Sec. 74-36. Towing of illegally parked vehicles.
(a) The chief of police, or his representative, shall have the authority to cause an illegally parked vehicle to be towed away by a licensed towing service to the premises operated by such service if in his opinion the public safety or residents of the town is or will be jeopardized. The applicable fine and all costs of towing and storage must be paid by the owner or operator of such vehicle before such vehicle is released.

[Raven]

it's your duty to stand proud in self defense
if you feel you've been wronged.

try to remember that...and don't show your aggravation