College Station's police chief addresses city council concerns about predatory towing practices

This podcast contains comments from the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.Predatory towing of vehicles in privately owned parking lots in College Station was discussed during the last city council meeting (February 26).As part of police chief Billy Couch's review of PD activity last year, he shared that the state regulates towing companies and wrecker drivers.Couch brought up the different scenarios the police department has with towing companies. The chief says towing companies are supposed to report all tows to police.The chief told the council that there are spotters, mostly in Northgate, who are watching parking lots who will contact a wrecker that is parked nearby when they see a violator.Couch says another state regulation is the wrecker can take the vehicle only when the tow is "road ready".The chief also says there is a state regulation that allows vehicle owners to pay a fee to release their vehicle before it is towed. Couch says that fee is much less than paying to get a vehicle out of an impound lot.Councilman William Wright, who did not share details about a personal experience involving a predatory tow, was hoping the council could have taken some sort of action to make a difference for what he believes will be future victims.Click HERE to read and download presentation information given at the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.