San Marcos / EXCLUSIVE: Deputies tow shoppers' unregistered vehicles..
"There's just no way that I'm going to be able to spin this in a good light because on the surface it looks terrible, but this is part of their duties as traffic enforcement," Sea said.
At least eight people had their vehicles towed Friday as sheriff's deputies cruised shopping centers and streets looking for long-expired vehicle registrations.
Slow traffic prompted the deputies to look for other enforcement opportunities, namely registration enforcement, Lt. Mike Sea said. He said the deputies decided on their own to look for vehicles with expired registrations, and the activity was not part of any formal enforcement operation or the department's Holiday Watch.
"There's just no way that I'm going to be able to spin this in a good light because on the surface it looks terrible, but this is part of their duties as traffic enforcement," Sea said.
Sea said law enforcement officers can't tow a vehicle for expired registration unless it has been expired for at least 6 months.
By 2:45 p.m. two vehicles had been towed from Grand Plaza, four from Creekside Marketplace, and two from streets, Sea said.
San Marcos resident Rob Hazen said he and his wife were walking to their car from Nordstrom Rack at Grand Plaza around 1:45 p.m. when they saw a woman screaming and crying beside her car, which had been loaded onto a tow truck.
He said two deputies and two patrol cars were there, too.
"She just kept saying, 'They've been paid, they've been paid,'" Hazen said. "She was pretty upset."
Sea said the enforcement might come off as Grinch-like at this time of year, but it's one of the enforcement activities traffic deputies are expected to do when they're not busy with moving violations.
"Traffic is extremely slow and sparse," Sea said. "Normally they would not be doing this kind of enforcement, but when things slow down we don't expect them to be doing nothing."
Hazen said he supported the police, and that he understood their responsibilities, but the timing was terrible.
"Two days before Christmas to basically be working in a parking lot and snagging cars? I think there's a different way to go about it," he said.
Sea said supervisors did not plan to stop the deputies or redirect their efforts.
"Their activity will be driven by the activity in the city," Sea said. "As traffic picks up, they'll focus on that."
Slow traffic prompted the deputies to look for other enforcement opportunities, namely registration enforcement, Lt. Mike Sea said. He said the deputies decided on their own to look for vehicles with expired registrations, and the activity was not part of any formal enforcement operation or the department's Holiday Watch.
"There's just no way that I'm going to be able to spin this in a good light because on the surface it looks terrible, but this is part of their duties as traffic enforcement," Sea said.
Sea said law enforcement officers can't tow a vehicle for expired registration unless it has been expired for at least 6 months.
By 2:45 p.m. two vehicles had been towed from Grand Plaza, four from Creekside Marketplace, and two from streets, Sea said.
San Marcos resident Rob Hazen said he and his wife were walking to their car from Nordstrom Rack at Grand Plaza around 1:45 p.m. when they saw a woman screaming and crying beside her car, which had been loaded onto a tow truck.
He said two deputies and two patrol cars were there, too.
"She just kept saying, 'They've been paid, they've been paid,'" Hazen said. "She was pretty upset."
Sea said the enforcement might come off as Grinch-like at this time of year, but it's one of the enforcement activities traffic deputies are expected to do when they're not busy with moving violations.
"Traffic is extremely slow and sparse," Sea said. "Normally they would not be doing this kind of enforcement, but when things slow down we don't expect them to be doing nothing."
Hazen said he supported the police, and that he understood their responsibilities, but the timing was terrible.
"Two days before Christmas to basically be working in a parking lot and snagging cars? I think there's a different way to go about it," he said.
Sea said supervisors did not plan to stop the deputies or redirect their efforts.
"Their activity will be driven by the activity in the city," Sea said. "As traffic picks up, they'll focus on that."
Call staff writer Morgan Cook at 760-739-6675.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/san-marcos/exclusive-deputies-tow-shoppers-unregistered-vehicles/article_8043942a-a9d6-590b-af95-faf8eecc7803.html#ixzz1hSw3JylP
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/san-marcos/exclusive-deputies-tow-shoppers-unregistered-vehicles/article_8043942a-a9d6-590b-af95-faf8eecc7803.html#ixzz1hSw3JylP
