Friday nite from he11

I agree with you. Classic case of abuse of power. If your car is currently registered and parked legally, the most any "citizen" can do is have the police tag the car with a 72 hour notice. That means the car has to move within that time and drive a certain amount of miles before it could be parked there again to start the process all over again. I wouldn't let them get away with that and would first ask politely for reimbursement for all your costs since it was illegally towed. If they blow you off, then it would be small claims court time and I would name everyone remotely involved, in the lawsuit and let the judge decide who pays. Of course, if the CHP guy has to pay, you'll have a target on your rear bumper any time he sees you on the highway but I still wouldn't stand for it.