By a 4-2-1 vote Tuesday evening (Aug 26th), the Danville City Council Public Services Committee has moved on to the full council a proposal that would strengthen when a vehicle involved in a crime could be towed and impounded. Police Chief Christopher Yates says it needs to be more than just extreme felony situations like a high speed chase where people are injured. After the meeting, he talked about robberies of stores. The chief says officers need to have the option to consider the damage done by a robbery of a family operation, compared to a robbery of a big box store.
AUDIO: If you have a big box store that loses $3,000; is that impact going to be any more than a small family owned business that loses $300. And, you know, it’s hard to draw that line; because a $300 loss from a privately owned business, and you have more than one of those; they add up. And that can close someone’s doors. And I think if you’re going to have an ordinance such as that, you need to make sure it protects all property owners and all store owners.
Danville Police Chief Christopher Yates addressed the Danville City Council Public Services Committee.
Aldermen Cooper and Teague abstained, indicating they wanted to look into this further. Alderman Jones voted no. Chief Yates says getting a towed and impounded car back requires a $300 payment.
Fire Chief Aaron Marcott, meanwhile, says that in the next couple of days the “Danville Community Connect” system will be available on the Fire Department and City of Danville websites. Marcott says you can enter important information that would only be accessed if your home or business has a fire. But if it does, they will know some very important things immediately.
AUDIO: If you have any special needs. If you have a hidden key code or you have a key hidden somewhere; and you want us to know that instead of breaking down your door down, you can put that information in there. And then we’ll see that, in or out, through a messaging system on our dispatching ticket.
Danville Firefighters Devin Heinrichs and Lt David Jones receive special recognition for project work during City Council Public Services meeting; including Heinrichs’ work to help put Danville Community Connect system together.
