(a) Members of the Police Department are hereby authorized to remove a vehicle from a street or highway to the nearest garage or other place of safety or to a garage designated or maintained by the Police Department or otherwise maintained by this Municipality under the circumstances hereinafter enumerated:
(1) When any vehicle is left unattended upon any bridge, viaduct or causeway or in any tube or tunnel where such vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic.
(2) When a vehicle upon a highway is so disabled as to constitute an obstruction to traffic and the person in charge of the vehicle is, by reason of physical injury, incapacitated to such an extent as to be unable to provide for its custody or removal.
(3) When any vehicle is parked illegally.
(4) When any vehicle is involved in a wreck and is not removed by the owner or any authorized person within a reasonable time thereafter.
(5) When any vehicle is driven by a person charged with being under the influence of alcohol.
(6) When any vehicle is left unattended due to the removal of an ill, injured or arrested operator.
(7) When any vehicle is parked for more than four hours in excess of the time allotted for parking at any place.
(8) When any vehicle is involved in two or more violations of this Traffic Code or any other traffic ordinance for which citation tags have been issued and not presented.
(9) When any vehicle is parked on any street, highway or avenue within the Municipality during hours designated for the cleaning of any such street, highway or avenue. Such designation shall be made by the Chief of Police, Mayor or head of the Traffic Department of the Municipality, and such street, highway or avenue shall be posted by appropriate signs prohibiting parking during the period of cleaning.
(b) Whenever an officer removes a vehicle from a street as authorized in this section and the officer knows or is able to ascertain from the registration records in the vehicle the name and address of the owner thereof, such officer shall immediately give or cause to be given notice in writing to the owner of the fact of the removal and the reasons thereof and of the place to which such vehicle has been removed. In the event any such vehicle is stored in a public garage, a copy of the notice shall be given to the proprietor of such garage.
(c) Whenever an officer removes a vehicle from a street under this section and does not know and is not able to ascertain the name of the owner, or for any other reason is unable to give the notice to the owner as hereinbefore provided, then the officer shall immediately send or cause to be sent a written report of such removal by mail to the Sate department whose duty it is to register vehicles, and shall file a copy of such notice with the proprietor of any public garage in which the vehicle may be stored. Such notice shall include a complete description of the vehicle, the date, time and place from which removed, the reasons for such removal and name of the garage or place where the vehicle is stored.
(1974 Code Sec. 3-30)