(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Investigating officer" means any officer of the Division of Police or any other person appropriately deputized or authorized by the Director of Public Safety, who performs an investigation upon a damaged vehicle or who is an authorized representative or designee of such person.
(2) "Vehicle" means any motor vehicle, mobile home, house trailer, camper and all other wheeled vehicles, whether self-propelled or not.
(b) The Division shall investigate all cases involving damage to vehicles wherein there is evidence that the damage was caused by a firearm or other weapon, or by an accident in which any person is killed or injured or in which there is any damage to the property of any person. The Director shall cause the printing and use of appropriate forms and notices to implement the work of investigation, enforcement and record keeping as may be required under this section.
(c) Upon the completion of each such investigation, an investigating officer shall affix to each vehicle damaged a damage release sticker. Such sticker shall be sufficient authority to authorize the repair of such vehicle.
(d) No person shall repair or attempt to repair any damaged vehicle until and unless a damage release sticker has been affixed to such vehicle by an investigating officer.
(e) No person shall possess a damage release sticker or a facsimile thereof unless such sticker was obtained from an investigating officer for the purpose of affixing such sticker to a particular damaged vehicle.
(f) No person employed to repair or to appraise a damaged motor vehicle, or person in charge of any garage or repair shop requested or employed to appraise or to repair a damaged vehicle, and no driver of a wrecker or tow vehicle who tows a damaged vehicle shall fail to report to the Division within twenty-four hours, or prior to the release of such a vehicle from the person's custody or control, whichever occurs first, the location, serial number and description of each such vehicle that does not have affixed thereto a damage release sticker.
(g) No person shall tow or remove a damaged motor vehicle from a point inside the City or within the jurisdiction of the Division to a point outside the City or outside the jurisdiction of the Division, unless the vehicle has affixed thereto a damage release sticker.
(h) No person who repairs a damaged vehicle or no person in charge of a garage or repair shop that repairs such a vehicle shall, prior to releasing such vehicle, fail to remove from such vehicle any damage release sticker and destroy it.
(i) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall be subject to the penalty provided in Section 408.01.
(Ord. 76-37. Passed 7-6-76.)