Iraq vet's car impounded under new Denver law

A local airman fought for our freedom in Iraq and is now fighting to keep his car, seized by Denver Police under a controversial new law.

Brian Furman spent the past 13 months on dangerous duty in Iraq. He just got back, stationed at Buckley Air base. He says he didn't realize his Missouri driver's license had expired while he was in Iraq, until a Denver Police officer pulled him over for a broken headlight.


The officer impounded Furman's car under a law passed by voters last summer. It allows police to impound a car if the driver is not carrying a license and requires them to pay a $2500 bond plus hefty storage fees in order to get the car back.

Furman argues, he was under a grace period to renew his license and the court dropped all charges. But the city still refuses to release the car. And Furman says they told him unless he comes up with nearly $4000, they are going to sell the car next month.

The City Attorney's office says they cannot comment on the case until they've reviewed it. But they say the voter initiative was poorly written and they are going to be addressing common sense issues like this as a meeting next week.