An innocent Chicago mechanic died still fighting to recover his seized Cadillac after the city demanded thousands in impound fees despite a judge declaring him blameless.
At a Glance
- Chicago impounded Byrd’s car though he was never charged
- City demanded over $17,000 to return his vehicle
- Lawsuit claims impound system violates constitutional rights
- Byrd’s tools and livelihood were lost with the car
- He died in 2023 without getting his property back
A Car Seized, a Career Lost
In 2016, Chicago police pulled over Spencer Byrd while he was driving a client in his 1996 Cadillac DeVille. Although police found heroin on the passenger, Byrd himself was never charged with a crime. Still, the city impounded his vehicle under its controversial impound program.
Inside the Cadillac were Byrd’s mechanic tools—critical for his work as a mobile auto repairman. Without them, he couldn’t continue earning a living. “I can’t understand it, because I’m almost to the point of being homeless,” Byrd said at the time. “If I was found guilty or in the wrong, do what you gotta do, but I was blind to the fact,” as reported by Reason.
Watch Reason’s report on the incident at The Man Who Fought Chicago for His Cadillac—and Never Got It Back.
A judge eventually ruled Byrd was innocent, but the city still demanded over $17,000 in impound and storage fees before it would return the car. The costs continued to accrue daily, locking Byrd in a financial trap. With no car or tools, he had to rely on buses and favors just to get by.
A System Under Fire
In 2019, Byrd became a lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit brought by the Institute for Justice, challenging Chicago’s impound system. The suit argued the program violated constitutional protections against excessive fines and unreasonable seizures, targeting people like Byrd who had done nothing wrong.
Chicago’s program allowed vehicles to be seized for infractions as minor as loud music or littering. According to Car and Driver, the city impounded nearly 94,000 vehicles in 2017 alone and sold roughly 24,000 of them—often for scrap—leaving owners still liable for hefty fines.
Critics say the impound system acts less like a public safety tool and more like a revenue scheme disproportionately affecting working-class and minority residents. “I have no background in drugs, no felonies, no nothing, just been working hard all my life,” Byrd said. “I believe the city just wants you to throw money at them and not fight for what’s right,” according to Reason.
Reforms Come Too Late
Chicago made limited reforms in 2020 to soften the impact on innocent owners, but the changes arrived too late for Byrd. In March 2023, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit he had helped spearhead. The Institute for Justice vowed to appeal, arguing that the city’s impound policy remained unconstitutional.
“Chicago’s impound program has violated residents’ rights for far too long,” an Institute spokesperson told Reason. “We look forward to appealing this ruling and tackling head-on cases approving of this unconstitutional system.”
Byrd passed away in February 2023, just one month before the court dismissed his case. He never got his Cadillac back—and never recovered the livelihood stolen with it.
While his personal struggle ended without justice, Byrd’s case helped bring national attention to how civil asset forfeiture laws can devastate lives. His story stands as a powerful indictment of a system that, critics say, prioritizes revenue over rights.
