BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Mountain View Mayor Ellen Kamei has prevailed in a lawsuit from a tow truck driver who said she had him arrested for towing her car from a downtown parking lot.
The tow truck driver, Felix Salcido from Ed’s Tow & Cradle, failed to show that he was charged without probable cause or that Kamei’s actions led to his arrest, Judge Nathanael Cousins said in his ruling on Nov. 14.
Salcido alleged that Kamei used her direct line to interim Police Chief Max Bosel because she was angry that her car was towed on April 12, 2023.
Kamei “wields considerable influence and power in her position” on Mountain View City Council, Salcido’s suit said.
After talking to Kamei, Bosel allegedly assigned Sgt. Chris Goff to investigate, and Goff contacted other drivers who were towed and found one who wanted to press charges against Salcido.
Goff said in his police report that Salcido didn’t have written authorization for towing cars, violating state vehicle code.
Salcido was charged with making illegal tows on June 20, 2024.
Judge Thang Barrett dismissed the felony charge due to insufficient evidence.
“In his police report, Goff deliberately fails to indicate who provided the notification of the alleged unlawful towing,” Salcido’s suit said.
In response, Assistant City Attorney Montague Hung said council members have no individual authority over the police.
“Kamei, like any other private citizen, is entitled to file a police report,” Hung said.
How dare he tow the mayor’s car. He should know that those “no parking — you will be towed” signs don’t apply to her. And if you dare treat her like an ordinary citizen, she’s got the police chief on speed dial.
How about: tow truck drivers need to follow the law? If they got caught doing an improper tow by a city council member, how many tows have they done illegally to regular citizen without getting caught?
Towing is already a predatory business so I’m firmly on the side of saying that tow truck drivers better have ample documentation that they had permission to tow, that the vehicle in question was actually illegally parked, and that they followed the regulations to the letter.
Illegal tow? Read the friggen city code. The code requires the posting of “no parking — tow away zone” signs. They were all over the place including above her car. It was a legal tow. If it weren’t, that would be the key issue in this case. What we’ve got here is a minor league politician who has a big sense of privilege, who doesn’t believe laws should apply to her. I hope Felix Salcido appeals this decision.
Try again: Written Authorization required. A tow company cannot remove a vehicle from private property without the written authorization of the property owner or lessee, who must be present at the time of the tow, unless the vehicle is blocking a fire lane or access point.
An owner or manager of a business may not enter into an agreement with a tow company granting general authorization to remove vehicles from the property at the tow company’s discretion. (This is known as “patrol” or “contract” towing).
Tow companies make hundreds of thousands dollars by this fraud type patrol towing.