In a recent article at an automotive website, we see the bizarre story of a tow truck driver who got a little too desperate for the repo money. Instead of being professional and being a good hunter, he did something that could get him killed in most states. Worse, his death would have probably been entirely legal.
Before I go any further, I want to be entirely clear: people should pay their bills. Nothing I say in this article should be taken as defense of people who get in dumb fights against repo guys doing their job the right way. So, don’t rush down to the comments and tell me that I’m taking the side of deadbeats! Besides, there’s some question over whether the repo guy even had the right car, so this crime may have been committed against people who had already paid the car entirely off!
Instead of trying to wait for a good opportunity to hook the car up in a driveway or parking lot like good repo guys who have even a little bit of professionalism, this guy tried to hook his truck up to an occupied vehicle on a public street.
Why do this? The company didn’t answer media, but they have been caught engaging in shady business in the past, including other illegal tows. This could have been a completely moronic repo job, an attempt to extort the couple in the car, or some other form of non-repo criminal activity. Given that this was all on video, it’s unlikely that the company will answer, because their lawyer probably told them to STFU.
Why This Was Such A Moronic Thing To Do
Even if this was a legitimately behind car that there was a tow out for, this was not the way to do it. Trying to grab an occupied car alone likely constitutes a number of different felonies. Abduction/kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and assault with a deadly weapon (agg assault) all come to mind pretty fast, but there are likely others you could come up with if you scanned the lawbook for a few minutes. Not only did the guy endanger the couple in the car, but the public at large.
The biggest problem here is that a multi-ton vehicle isn’t a toy. When abused intentionally like this to further other crimes, it’s as dangerous a weapon as a Bowie knife or a gun. If someone is assaulting you with a deadly weapon like this, you can do what it takes to stop the attack. If there’s no other way to get away, it may be necessary to disable the truck and the driver with your own weapon.
I won’t tell you that you should shoot if faced with the situation this couple was faced with, but I really doubt you’d be able to find a jury willing to convict or even indict someone fighting off this kind of assault and protect their family.
More importantly, though, if you work any kind of a job where your boss tells you to do shady things to make a few more bucks, use common sense. Again, we don’t know exactly what was going on here, but the company does have some history of illegal tows. If the driver had been told by his boss to do this, the employee is under zero obligation to actually do it.
Whatever you do, don’t be like this repo guy. It could very easily get you killed.