JENNINGS, Mo. – A Jennings man blocked a tow truck from hauling his vehicle away after the city claimed it was derelict, but the man said it was for having expired tags.
Robert Cotton Sr. arrived home to find a tow truck trying to take his truck away, so he blocked him in.
Cotton recently saw the FOX Files investigation into Calverton Park towing cars for having expired tags, so he called FOX 2 about the problem.
“The city inspector came by to tow by vehicle off my private property,” Cotton said.
The Jennings Building Division called St. Louis County Police after Cotton blocked the tow truck from leaving.
Cotton said the city tried taking it because the tags on his truck expired in 2017. He said it hasn’t been on the road because he’s been trying to make repairs.
“Unfortunately, there’s a bolt that I cannot get out. I’ve had multiple mechanics come over look at it,” he said.
More and more St. Louis County police officers arrived. Officers called supervisors. Supervisors called their supervisors to decide what to do.
“It’s not in the street, it’s not blocking the sidewalk, it’s not on the grass, it’s not bothering anybody,” Cotton said.
Jennings Mayor Gary Johnson said Cotton’s truck was deemed derelict and abandoned.
“License plates expired five years, or whatever it was. Windows opened,” Johnson said.
The mayor said the building division tagged the vehicle on May 25, and then called the tow two weeks later. The city would not say if it sought an administrative search warrant from a judge, something Calverton Park does.
“It was a safety hazard in our community,” Johnson said.
After being pressed about what made the vehicle a “safety hazard,” the mayor started reading the city ordinance.
City Ordinance by KevinSeanHeld on Scribd
“What makes it a safety hazard?” Johnson said. “Probably because it is deemed a public safety hazard, or it’s properly stored on private property, driveways of property, rear back areas of private property, unapproved areas of private property or public property of vehicles which are inoperable, derelict or in violation of a state vehicle safety inspection statute, and vehicles which do not display thereon current state license plates.”
The mayor could not say what made the vehicle a safety hazard.
Jennings is not the only north county municipality to tow cars from private driveways. Calverton Park has towed 81 vehicles since December 2020 for having expired tags.
An attorney representing Calverton Park said expired tags could be considered a public health issue because a car with expired tags likely has not had a vehicle safety inspection or emissions test.
The code enforcement lieutenant said they have found snakes and mice when removing cars. He said that falls in line with it being a safety hazard, which makes it towable.
Jennings’ mayor said people are happy about derelict cars being towed from people’s driveways.
Johnson did not know if fees are being issued for residents found in violation of the city’s ordinance.
“We’re going to change the narrative in Jennings,” he said.
As for the driveway dilemma, Cotton gets to keep his truck.
“The police told them you’re breaking the law,” Cotton said. “You can’t take my personal property just because you want too, and this new mayor we have in the City of Jennings is just going rogue.”
Unfortunately, while Cotton’s truck was being returned, the tow truck popped the truck’s tire.
“They just keep poking the bear. Well guess what, now the bear is coming after the City of Jennings because I am going to file a lawsuit,” Cotton said.
St. Louis County police said it gave advice to the mayor based on the department’s policy and state statue and the county ordinance.
St. Louis County PD Towing Procedures by KevinSeanHeld on Scribd
According to county policy, officers can tow abandoned property that’s declared a safety hazard, but it must be declared a nuisance first under the county’s junked motor vehicles on private property ordinance. It requires the officer get an administrative search warrant, signed by the judge, before going onto a person’s property to retrieve a vehicle.