Editor’s Note: Since this story’s initial publication, the City of London’s chief municipal bylaw enforcement officer advised Global News that another applicant, who is not the subject of the municipal hearing officer’s decision referred to in this story, was granted a licence for a towing and impound yard business under the name DNA Towing and Recovery, and is currently licensed to operate under that name.
Correction: A previous edit of this story referenced a city media release which suggested the denial of a licence to DNA Towing and Recovery resulted from a tow truck licence enforcement blitz in November 2022. City officials have since clarified that “a business licence application was submitted and subsequently refused for matters of non-compliance,” in August 2022.
A decision last fall by the City of London, Ont. to revoke the business licence of a local tow truck company, in part after two of its workers were accused of shooting at a rival tow truck, was recently upheld at appeal by a municipal hearing officer, city documents show.
Also upheld was the city’s decision to deny a licence to a different tow truck company due to the applicant’s criminal history and an incident in July which police allege involved a knife, according to the documents. (A licence was later granted under a different applicant, the city says.)
The hearings, which were held on Feb. 2 involving RMS Towing and DNA Towing and Recovery, come amid the city’s ongoing efforts to regulate the local towing industry, following changes made in 2021 to the Business Licensing By-law.
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City council amended the bylaw to regulate and require licences for towing and impound yard storage businesses, after fielding complaints about overly aggressive behaviour from tow operators at collisions, among other issues.
“Leading up to the accident scene, the racing that has been occurring. We very much had our eye on the charges the police were laying in terms of tow trucks racing to accident scenes,” Orest Katolyk, the city’s chief municipal law enforcement officer, said Thursday of the issues seen in the city.
“There were several trucks that were actually seized for 30 days by London police for racing because they were doing well over the speed limit.”
All tow truck businesses providing services from a collision scene in London are required to be licensed, and fees for service cannot exceed set maximum rates, according to the city.
In November, the municipality conducted a week-long tow truck licence enforcement blitz in which 91 bylaw penalties and 10 warnings against 12 towing companies for various alleged infractions were handed out, the city said in a statement at the time.
“The principles of the bylaw focus very much on consumer protection and public safety, and we had numerous concerns about those two principles,” Katolyk said.
Dawyne Cameron, director of the London Towing Association, said he was glad the city was holding tow truck operators accountable.
“These bylaws, you know, some people don’t agree with them, but they’re there for a reason, (to) make sure everyone’s on the same playing field,” said Cameron, who is also co-owner of Clarke’s and Sturdy’s Services.
Speaking generally, Cameron said, “With all these… we call chasers, doing these calls, they’re not aboveboard. They’re lying to the customers, telling a lot of different things. It makes it really bad on everybody else.”
The city will hear appeals from two other businesses in June, and is reminding motorists that licenced tow truck operators don a blue sticker from the city. Licenced tow trucks and impound lots are also listed on the city’s website.
“The message to the public is that accident scenes are stressful enough when you’re in them… so people should be acquainted with tow trucks and choose companies that are licensed,” Katolyk said.
Other towing services outside of collision scenes don’t require a business licence, he says.
The appeal decisions, handed down by Hearing Officer Andrew Wright, were released by the city this week.
In the case of RMS Towing, Wright ruled in his decision that the city was right to revoke its licence, saying the company was “not carrying on” with “honesty or integrity,” and that it was a “bad actor,” citing multiple bylaw infractions and an alleged shooting that led to criminal charges against two of its workers.
The documents show the company was hit with at least 17 administrative monetary penalty system (AMPS) notices between April and August 2022, and was threatened with a 90-day licence suspension.
During a hearing in August, city officials gave RMS Towing 30 days to pay its outstanding penalties, and refrain from adding new ones, to avoid the suspension. The company’s licence was suspended later that month, Wright says.
The company has also been the subject of several police complaints, and an investigation for a charge of stunt driving, according to the documents.
London police Cst. Gregory Pearson testified the company had been involved in several occurrence reports since the August hearing, including for incidents where drivers had to contact police to get their vehicles from RMS’ impound lot, Wright said.
More concerning, however, were the criminal charges laid against two RMT Towing employees in the wake of an alleged shooting on Nov. 11, 2022 involving a rival operator.
Police have previously released details of the incident, which occurred around 10:20 p.m. near Adelaide Street South and Osgoode Drive, but have not stated publicly that the alleged shooting involved an RMS truck.
Police say six rounds were discharged during the incident, with five striking the rival tow truck’s tailgate, and one the rear windshield. Investigators tracked the suspect tow truck to Oakville, Ont., where two London men were arrested.
Blake St. Denis, 21, and Ali Banga, 25, are jointly charged with occupying a motor vehicle with a firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm with intent to injure, and possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm while knowingly not holding a licence. Each face additional separate charges, police said.
Seehan Abeysena, the owner of RMS towing, testified that the two workers charged in the shooting had since been fired, and argued the counts shouldn’t be taken into account as they were still before court, Wright’s report says.
Abeysena also claimed the company had never received the slew of AMPS penalty notices from the city, and said that he has scaled back RMS Towing and will continue without any employees, Wright says.
Wright said Abeysena faults his employees for all the problems, and says without them, it will be fine.
“On the basis of the evidence I have heard, the appellant is not carrying on the licenced businesses with honesty or integrity and the appellant has and is very likely to carry on activities in contravention of this By-law,” Wright says in his decision.
“This appellant is a bad actor and should not be licenced to carry on a towing business or an impound yard storage business in the City.”
In the case of DNA Towing and Recovery, Katolyk says “a business licence application was submitted and subsequently refused for matters of non-compliance,” in August 2022.
“The applicant appealed this decision and the hearing that occurred February 2, 2023 resulted in Hearings Officer (Wright) upholding the Licence Manager’s decision to refuse this licence,” he said via email.
Katolyk notes that a second application was later submitted by a new licensee which was approved on Feb. 9. “This is the company currently operating today.”
In his decision, Wright said the initial application was refused “on the basis of the applicant’s criminal record,” including 2018 convictions for fraud; break, enter and theft; and resisting arrest.
The applicant, identified as Saeed Al-Hjowj, is also facing a charge of assault with a weapon, a knife, following an alleged argument on July 2, 2022 while he was driving for RMS Towing, Wright’s decision states.
According to Wright, Al-Hjowj acknowledged his 2018 convictions during the hearing, but said he had changed since then and wanted “a chance to build a better future and be accepted in society as a productive member.”
He denied that a knife was involved in the July 2022 incident, and denied that he left the tow truck, but acknowledged that an argument occurred, Wright says. The matter remains before the court.
“Persons like the appellant who have had a bad start and have made mistakes should be encouraged and assisted when they acknowledge their mistakes, when they change their ways and seek a second chance to rebuild a productive life contributing to the community, including creating employment for others,” Wright states in his decision.
“That said, I am concerned about the criminal record from 2018. These are not 20-year-old charges for possession of cannabis, they are just 4 years ago and include fraud and theft convictions which go to the question of honesty and integrity as referenced in clause 8.3(a) of the Licence By-law.”
Wright added that he was also troubled by Al-Hjowj’s past with RMS Towing and the “influence the corporate culture and business practices at RMS Towing” may have had on him.
“The appellant is now working for another licenced tow truck business operator and is doing so successfully. Hopefully the corporate culture and business practices to which he is now being exposed will balance and correct any bad habits he may have absorbed from RMS Towing,” Wright says.
Wright says Al-Hjowj can apply again in 2024, which will give enough time for the 2022 charge to be settled and for the city to consider potential “short leash” conditions should a licence be granted.
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