(A) Notice: When a vehicle is impounded as authorized by law, and the officer, agent, or other employee responsible for the impoundment knows or is able to ascertain the name and address of the owner, the officer, agent, or employee shall immediately give notice or arrange for notice to be given in writing to the owner of the fact of the removal, the reason for it and the place to which the vehicle has been removed.
(B) Post-seizure Hearing:
(1) A person with legal entitlement to possession of an impounded vehicle has the right to a post-seizure administrative hearing to determine whether there was probable cause to impound the vehicle. The request for a hearing shall be in writing, and sent within ten (10) days after the notice of impoundment.
(2) A hearing shall be conducted before a hearing officer designated by the Town within forty eight (48) hours of receipt of a written demand from the person seeking the hearing. The sole question before the hearing officer shall be whether there was probable cause to impound the vehicle.
(3) "Probable cause to impound" means a state of facts that would lead a person of ordinary care and prudence to believe that there was sufficient breach of local, state or federal law to authorize the removal of the vehicle.
(4) The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. The person demanding the hearing shall carry the burden of establishing that such person had the right to possession of the vehicle. The police department shall have the burden of establishing that there was probable cause to impound the vehicle in question. Failure to attend a scheduled hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such hearing.
(5) At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall prepare a written decision. A copy of such decision shall be provided to the person demanding the hearing and the registered owner of the vehicle (if not the person requesting the hearing). The decision of the hearing officer is final.
(6) If the hearing officer determines that there was no probable cause, the hearing officer shall prepare and date a certificate of no probable cause, copies of which shall be given to the possessor of the vehicle and the police department. Upon receipt of the certificate, the garage or impound lot having custody of the vehicle shall release the vehicle to its possessor. Towing and storage fees shall be paid by the Town in accordance with the arrangements made between the Town and the garage or impound lot. If the possessor fails to present such certificate to the garage or impound lot within twenty four (24) hours of receipt, excluding such days when the garage or impound lot is closed, the possessor shall assume liability for all subsequent storage charges. The certificate shall advise the possessor of such requirement.
(Ord. 2(1968) § 9-3-5; Ord. 20(1976) § 10; Ord. 7(1983) § 1; Ord. 13(2022) § 2)