A.
The
City shall provide books containing uniform traffic tickets as prescribed
by Supreme Court Rule. Said books shall include serially numbered
sets of citations in quadruplicate in the form prescribed by Supreme
Court Rule.
B.
Such
books shall be issued to the Chief of Police or his/her duly authorized
agent, a record shall be maintained of every book so issued and a
written receipt shall be required for every book. The judge or judges
hearing City ordinance violation cases may require that a copy of
such record and receipts be filed with the court.
C.
The
Chief of Police shall be responsible for the issuance of such books
to individual members of the Police Department. The Chief of Police
shall require a written receipt for every book so issued and shall
maintain a record of every such book and each set of citations contained
therein.
Except when authorized or directed under State law to immediately
take a person before the Municipal Judge for the violation of any
traffic laws, a Police Officer who halts a person for such violation
other than for the purpose of giving him/her a warning or warning
notice and does not take such person into custody under arrest, shall
issue to him/her a uniform traffic ticket which shall be proceeded
upon in accordance with Supreme Court Rule Number 37.
Whenever any motor vehicle without driver is found parked or
stopped in violation of any of the restrictions imposed by ordinance
of the City or by State law, the officer finding such vehicle shall
take its registration number and may take any other information displayed
on the vehicle which may identify its user, and shall conspicuously
affix to such vehicle a uniform traffic ticket for the driver to answer
to the charge against him/her within five (5) days during the hours
and at a place specified in the traffic ticket.
If a violator of the restrictions on stopping, standing or parking
under the traffic laws or ordinances does not appear in response to
a uniform traffic ticket affixed to such motor vehicle within a period
of five (5) days, the Traffic Violations Bureau shall send to the
owner of the motor vehicle to which the uniform traffic ticket was
affixed a letter informing him/her of the violation and warning him/her
that in the event such letter is disregarded for a period of five
(5) days a warrant of arrest will be issued.
A.
Members
of the Police Department are 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 the City 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 its custody or removal;
3.
When any vehicle is left unattended upon a street and is so parked
illegally as to constitute a definite hazard or obstruction to the
normal movement of traffic.
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 such owner of the fact of such removal and the reasons
therefor 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 such 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, and in the event the vehicle is not returned
to the owner within a period of three (3) days, then and in that event
the officer shall immediately send or cause to be sent a written report
of such removal by mail to the State Department whose duty it is to
register motor 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 the name of the garage or place where the vehicle is stored.
A.
If
a person abandons property, as defined in Section 304.001, RSMo.,
on any real property owned by another without the consent of the owner
or person in possession of the property, at the request of the person
in possession of the real property, any member of the Police Department
may authorize a towing company to remove such abandoned property from
the property in the following circumstances:
B.
The
owner of real property or lessee in lawful possession of the real
property may authorize a towing company to remove abandoned property
without authorization by a Law Enforcement Officer only when the owner,
lessee or agent of the real property is present and only under any
of the following circumstances:
1.
There is displayed, in plain view at all entrances to the property,
a sign not less than seventeen (17) by twenty-two (22) inches in size,
with lettering not less than one (1) inch in height, prohibiting public
parking and indicating that unauthorized abandoned property will be
removed at the owner's expense, disclosing the maximum fee for all
charges related to towing and storage, and containing the telephone
number of the local Police Department where information can be obtained;
2.
The abandoned property is on private property and lacks an engine,
transmission, wheels, tires, doors, windshield or any other major
part or equipment necessary to operate safely on the highways, the
owner or lessee of the private property has notified the City Police
and ninety-six (96) hours have elapsed since that notification; or
3.
The abandoned property is left unattended on private property, and
the owner, lessee or agent of the real property in lawful possession
of real property has notified the appropriate law enforcement agency,
and ten (10) days have elapsed since that notification.
C.
Pursuant
to this Section, any owner or lessee in lawful possession of real
property that requests a towing company to tow abandoned property
without authorization from a Law Enforcement Officer shall within
one (1) hour of the tow, file an abandoned property report with the
appropriate Law Enforcement Agency where the property is located.
The report shall contain the following:
1.
The year, model, make and abandoned property identification number
of the property;
2.
A description of any damage to the property noted by owner or lessee
in possession of the real property;
3.
The license plate or registration number and the State of issuance,
if available;
4.
The physical location of the property and the reason for requesting
the property to be towed;
5.
The date the report is completed;
6.
The signature and printed name of the owner or lessee in possession
of the real property; and
7.
The name of the Law Enforcement Agency notified of the abandoned
property.
D.
The
Police Department receiving such abandoned property report must record
the date the abandoned property report is filed with such agency and
within five (5) days of such filing make an inquiry into the National
Crime Information Center and any Statewide Missouri Law Enforcement
Computer System to determine if the abandoned property has been reported
as stolen. The Police Department shall enter the information pertaining
to the towed property into the Statewide Enforcement Computer System.
E.
Neither
the Police Officer nor anyone having custody of abandoned property
under his/her direction shall be liable for any damage to such abandoned
property occasioned by a removal authorized by this Section other
than damages occasioned by negligence or by willful or wanton acts
or omissions.
F.
Any towing company which tows abandoned property without authorization from a Police Officer pursuant to Subparagraph (1) of Subsection (B) of this Section shall within one (1) hour of the tow report the event and the circumstances to the Police Department where the abandoned property report was filed.
G.
The
Police Department receiving notification that abandoned property has
been towed by a towing company shall record the date the property
was towed and shall forward a copy of the abandoned property report
to the Director of Revenue.
H.
If any owner or lessee of real property authorizes the removal of abandoned property pursuant to Subsection (B) of this Section and such property is so removed and no sign is displayed prior to such removal as required pursuant to Subsection (B) of this Section, then the owner or lessee shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
