Stolen and recovered motor vehicles – Duties of law enforcement officers – Responsibilities attaching to wrecker, salvage and garage businesses – Penalties

(a) (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105(1) It is the duty of every law enforcement officer who receives a report based on reliable information that any motor vehicle has been stolen to report the theft of the vehicle to the department of safety immediately after receiving the information. (2) The officer, who recovers or upon receiving information of the recovery of any motor vehicle, chassis, engine, transmission or other parts and accessories taken from the vehicle, which has previously been reported stolen, shall, immediately after receiving this information, report the recovery of the vehicle to the department. (3) The reports of the theft of any motor vehicle and the recovery of any motor vehicle shall be made to the Tennessee highway patrol dispatcher in the area in which the theft and/or recovery occurred. (4) It is the duty of the local sheriff’s office or police department where any motor vehicle has been reported stolen or recovered to file and maintain a report of the theft and/or recovery, the report to include, but not be limited to, available information as to ownership and the address of the owner, make, year and color of vehicle, license number and manufacturer‘s identification number, date of theft and/or recovery, name of person reporting theft and location where the theft occurred, name of person reporting recovery of vehicle and location of recovery, condition of vehicle at place of recovery and list of any parts or accessories found adjacent to recovered vehicle, and name and location of any wrecker or garage operator pulling or storing the vehicle, its parts or accessories. (5) It is the further duty of the local sheriff’s office or police department to transmit the information in subdivision (a)(4) pertaining to the theft or recovery of any motor vehicle, its chassis, engine, transmission or other parts and accessories thereof, to the Tennessee highway patrol dispatcher as heretofore set forth. (6) It is the duty of both the department and the local sheriff’s office or police department receiving information of the recovery of any motor vehicle, its chassis, engine, transmission, or other parts and accessories, to report the recovery to the owner. (b) (1) No person, firm or corporation engaged in the wrecker and/or garage or automobile salvage business shall remove, pull or store any recovered stolen motor vehicle, chassis, engine, transmission or other parts and accessories, without having first obtained the permission and authorization of either a law enforcement officer, the owner, lienholder or owner’s insurer. Upon receiving the required permission to remove, pull or store the vehicle, its chassis, engine, transmission or other parts and accessories, the person, firm or corporation so removing, pulling or storing the motor vehicle or its parts described above, shall immediately notify the Tennessee highway patrol dispatcher of the recovery, the name and address of the owner if known or reasonably ascertainable, the make, year and color of the vehicle, the condition of the vehicle at the place of recovery, and a list of any parts or accessories adjacent to or near the recovered vehicle, the manufacturer’s identification number, or engine or transmission number, if ascertainable, the license number if attached to the vehicle or left nearby, the location of recovery and location where the vehicle will be stored, and the name of t