Auto Owners Beware — D.C. Cops Throw Drivers in Jail for Expired Tags, AAA Cries Foul
In a city that hosts its fair share of murders and terror plots, Washington, D.C., police are cracking down on another threat to the nation’s capital — expired vehicle registrations.
To the frustration of forgetful drivers, Metropolitan Police Department officers are throwing people in jail for letting their tag renewals lapse. The practice provoked somewhat of a backlash last year after a local mother from Maryland was jailed for what in many places would be a routine traffic offense punishable by fine. But the department continues to reserve and exercise the right to throw drivers in the clink for missing the DMV deadline, no matter where they’re from.
The practice has drawn the attention of AAA, the nation’s largest motor club and travel organization, which is calling on the D.C. Council to review the policy.
“This is ridiculous,” AAA spokesman John Townsend said, noting that surrounding jurisdictions would not arrest for the same offense.
Accounts from those who’ve been locked up suggest it is not just a tactic designed to give police an opening to hassle and root out bona-fide criminals. Townsend said in one case, police arrested a mother on her way to pick up her child from school, with her younger child in the car. In another incident, a D.C. resident on his way to meet up with his girlfriend was arrested and forced to spend the night in a series of holding cells…