Tow Appeal Hearings

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Abandoned vehicle hearing records from March 2020 to now: decision reports, hearing schedules,logs, emails with city attorney and police chief, hearing request forms, and training materials. Log of abandoned vehicles.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Samuel Newton

Abandoned vehicle hearing records from March 2020 to 10/03/2023:
- decision reports.
- hearing schedules.
- logs.
- emails with city attorney and police chief.
- hearing request forms, and training materials.
- Log of abandoned vehicles.

I am requesting this list of documents.
As far as the emails I don't know how many abandoned vehicle hearings have been request or taken place to believe the request is too broad.

Please let me know if you have questions.

Why was the response delayed?

This request is directed towards Englewood Police Department in Englewood, Colorado.

I'd also like to request the recordings for the scheduled hearings from March 2020 to October 3rd 2023.

11-1A-8: - Conduct of Hearing.

A.

The Hearing Officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. Such hearing shall be tape recorded.

B.

The City shall carry the burden of establishing that there was probable cause to impound the vehicle in question.

C.

The Hearing Officer shall only determine that, as to the vehicle in question, the person requesting the hearing is the registered owner or other individual having right to possession, and either (1) there was probable cause to impound the vehicle, or (2) there was no such probable cause.

D.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall prepare a written decision. A copy of such decision shall be provided to the individual requesting the hearing and the City. In the event that the Hearing Officer determines that there was no such probable cause, the Hearing Officer shall prepare a "certificate of no probable cause", copies of which shall be given to the owner of the vehicle, the City, and the garage storing the vehicle. Upon receipt of the owner's copy of such certificate, the police garage having custody of the vehicle shall release the vehicle to its owner.

E.

Upon a finding of no probable cause, towing and storage fees shall be paid by the City in accordance with arrangements made between the City and police garages.

F.

If the owner fails to present such certificate to the police garage having custody of the vehicle within twenty-four (24) hours of its receipt, excluding such days when the garage is not open for business, the owner shall assume liability for all subsequent storage charges. Such certificate shall inform the owner of such requirement.

G.

If the Hearing Officer determines that the impoundment was valid and if the owner does not comply with the appropriate ordinances within ten (10) days of the Hearing Officer's decision and refuses to remove the motor vehicle by means other under its own power on a public highway, the City OF Englewood shall have reasonable grounds to believe the motor vehicle has been abandoned and the provisions of Section 11-1A-4 of this Article shall apply and the vehicle may be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of said Section 11-1A-4, Disposition of Unclaimed Vehicles.

H.

The Hearing Officer's decision in no way affects any criminal proceeding in connection with the impound in question, and any criminal charges involved in such proceeding may only be challenged in the appropriate court.

I.

The decision of the Hearing Officer is final.

Requesting the records designating the Police Chief as the Hearing Officer overseeing hearings for vehicles towed by the police department.

11-1A-7: - Referral to Hearing Officer.

A.

The Hearing Officer shall be designated by the City Manager.

B.

Upon receipt by the City of a written request for a hearing, such hearing shall be conducted by the Hearing Officer within forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and City holidays, unless such person requesting the hearing waives the right to a speedy hearing.

C.

The sole issues before the Hearing Officer shall be (1) whether there was probable cause to impound the vehicle in question. "Probable cause to impound" shall mean such a state of facts as would lead a person of ordinary care and prudence to believe that there was sufficient breach of local, State or Federal law to grant legal authority for the removal of the vehicle; (2) the person requesting the hearing is the registered owner or other individual having right to possession of the vehicle.

I'd like to ammend my request with the following:

Pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), I am requesting access to and a copy of the logs of all CORA requests submitted to your agency over the past 180 days. This request includes, but is not limited to, the dates of requests, the nature of the requests, the responses provided, and any associated correspondence.

Please provide the requested records in an electronic format if possible. If there are any fees for searching, reviewing, or copying the records, please inform me before processing my request. Additionally, if you need any further information or clarification to locate these records, please let me know at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your assistance and prompt attention to this matter.

Do you have the recordings for each hearing?

When was this document created: Tow Heearing training.docx

Can you provide the actual document to include the metadata?
As well as an emails containing that document. Or correspondence resulting in that documents creation.

No training was provided prior?

Could you please provide the additional training documents and memos?

Are there more Administrative Hearings Regarding Abatement of a Nuisance?

Who appointed a Police Chief and/or Sam Watson as the Hearing Officer for Police impound hearings?

Do you have a resolution available?
Correspondence?

Since March 2020 to October 2023 there's only been 2 hearings?
Another 1 this year?

How many vehicles have been sold by the impound?
Do you have records of the revenue generated by the impounds?

Do you have the recordings?

Which records are you still processing?

If the hearing was recorded on a mobile device that still would be a city record?

Are you able to insist the officer is contacted?

Whether it was his personal phone or one provided by the department; Englewood Police's Policy does require those records be maintained.

Could you search for any recording as well?
In the past ten years or further?

The decision reports weren't retained by the City?

I am writing to request copies of the Oath of Office and any related documents for the past five police chiefs of the Englewood Police Department.

If available, please include the dates of appointment, any official statements or announcements regarding their hiring, as well as any documents detailing their roles, responsibilities, or any relevant training they underwent upon appointment. Additionally, if there are any public-facing documents or records associated with their service, please include those as well.

I appreciate your assistance with this request and look forward to your timely response.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

I am writing to request access to all correspondence generated from or in relation to my prior records requests submitted to your office. This includes internal communications, responses, and any other related documentation.

Additionally, I kindly request a brief description of the search conducted to locate these records, including the departments or databases searched.

Please confirm receipt of this request and provide an estimated time frame for fulfilling it. Should there be any associated fees, please inform me in advance.

Thank you for your response. I would like to clarify that under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), there is no statutory requirement for formalities in submitting a request. As such, my original request remains valid and should not have been closed without legal justification.

Additionally, please provide a detailed breakdown of any anticipated costs as required. I also remind you that under CORA, records related to requests must be maintained for at least two years. I kindly ask for the specific statute or legal basis you are relying on to justify the closure of my request, as this action does not appear to be supported by the CORA Act.

Please consider this communication as a continuation of my initial request, and I expect your office to proceed with it in accordance with the law.

In response to your statement that the City is unable to locate any additional records responsive to my Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request, please clarify which specific searches were conducted and confirm compliance with all obligations to locate responsive records, including all correspondence related to prior requests.

Given the time elapsed since my initial request and the City’s duty under CORA, I respectfully request a detailed explanation for this constructive denial, including the legal basis under CORA for the City's inability to locate these records.

Thank you for your response. I would like to clarify that under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), there is no statutory requirement for formalities in submitting a request. As such, my original request remains valid and should not have been closed without legal justification.

Additionally, please provide a detailed breakdown of any anticipated costs as required. I also remind you that under CORA, records related to requests must be maintained for at least two years. I kindly ask for the specific statute or legal basis you are relying on to justify the closure of my request, as this action does not appear to be supported by the CORA Act.

Please consider this communication as a continuation of my initial request, and I expect your office to proceed with it in accordance with the law.