Marchers protest car impounds
KENT PORTER/The Press Democrat

More than 200 marchers walked from Roseland to Santa Rosa City Hall to call attention to police impounds of cars taken from drivers without licenses.

By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 6:44 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 6:44 p.m.

More than 200 marchers paraded Saturday from Roseland to Santa Rosa City Hall to call on police to stop impounding the vehicles of unlicensed drivers, the majority of whom are illegal immigrants.

The marchers, whose leaders met last month with Police Chief Tom Schwedhelm, said the 30-day impound requires car owners to pay about $2,000 to recover their vehicles, a great financial burden.

“We believe that our City Council would be respectful to immigrants and would be understanding of the suffering of immigrant families when their cars are taken,â€