Alabama Shooting Puts Repo Law in Focus

Alabama’s repossession law is under scrutiny after a shooting involving a police officer. The officer was called to a repo scene after a tow operator was threatened by a man that had pulled a gun on him.  

The man, Stephen Perkins, pointed the handgun at the officers and was subsequently shot and killed. Perkins’ family maintains the towing company was not at the right house because Perkins’ truck payments were current. 

Many questions remain unanswered in Perkins’ case, however, one area attorney says there are laws that must be followed during repo actions. 

According to Alabama Code § 7-9A-609, after a borrower defaults a lender can take possession of collateral or make that collateral unusable. The code section goes on to explain that a lender can accomplish a repossession with the court’s assistance, or without the court as long as there is no “breach of the peace.” 

Attorney Mark McDaniel, who is not connected to this case, says the portion about a breach of peace is critical. However, authorities have not released many details so far. 

“The person doing the repossession cannot make a threat. There can be no violence there at all. They certainly cannot go into your house or a locked garage,” McDaniel explained. “The issue then in this particular case is if a person goes to the police, if that’s what happened, the police come back and the issue is then the reasonableness of the police officer going back to the scene there.” 

Source: whnt.com