Indiana Police Department Sued for Illegally Seizing Taxi Licenses

They have no such authority

INDIANAPOLIS — A group of cab drivers has sued the Speedway Police Department after officers seized their taxi licenses when they tried to pick up passengers after this year's Indianapolis 500.

The federal lawsuit filed Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana claims that officers illegally confiscated about 80 drivers' licenses May 26 without due process. Those drivers who returned to retrieve their licenses were ordered to pay $50 parking tickets, the lawsuit says.

Driver Brian Thompson said he has refused to pay the parking ticket issued to him for driving on a street near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was there to pick up a father and son from Florida whom he had dropped off that morning before the race. Officers didn't stop the cabs from driving along the street in the morning, Thompson told The Indianapolis Star. …

Adam Baker, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Department of Code Enforcement, which issues city taxi licenses, Speedway officers do not have authority to seize cab licenses, which can only be revoked by the City of Indianapolis.