LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Woody Guthrie once sang that "some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen." Others, it seems, tend to be far less subtle, as they can simply rob you with a tow-truck.In L.A., there's almost nothing as annoying as getting your car towed. So it's great to see the Police Commission approve a plan to take down bandit tow-truck drivers. Such truckers tow away cars under false pretenses, and charge exorbitant fees when drivers come to retrieve their vehicles. According to the Times, LAPD Captain Bradley Merritt told the commission that bandits get away with "thousands of vehicles" each year.