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VIDALIA, La. — Craig and Patti Sanders of All Ways Towing LLC have filed a civil rights lawsuit against Vidalia Police and the Town of Vidalia. The lawsuit alleges that officials discriminated against the towing service based on politics.

Attorney Karl Koch of Baton Rouge filed the case Sanders et al. v. Vidalia et al. in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on Dec. 12 on behalf of the towing company. The suit claims VPD Chief Joey Merrill removed All Ways Towing from the list of towing companies that the police department calls for traffic incidents on a rotating basis if vehicle owners do not choose one for themselves.

Merrill said he cannot comment on the lawsuit or its allegations until it goes to court.

However, when asked if he has ever done anything to harm a business for political reasons, he said, “Never during my career.”

Merrill was reelected to his third term as Chief of Police on March 23, 2024, defeating Frank Duson in the election.

The suit alleges that Merrill removed All Ways Towing from its Vehicle Towing Rotation List after observing campaign signs supporting Duson on property that belongs to Craig Sanders that Sanders was leasing and subsequently seeing a social media comment made by Patti Sanders about the disappearance of Duson campaign signs in certain areas of town.

It also alleges that Merrill had secretly taken All Ways Towing off of the list without using traditional protocols or notifying the company that it had been removed from the list.

The suit then alleges that Merrill attempted to conceal his reason for the company’s removal from the list by stating that a policy limits participation in the Vidalia Rotation List to licensed towing companies that were either on the Louisiana State Police Troop E Vehicle Towing Rotation List or had been in business for a continuous period of five years.

When asked for a copy of the department’s towing policy, Merrill said, “I’m not required to have a policy or a list. That’s a privilege.”

He added that his responsibility is to the people involved in traffic accidents to ensure that only certified, insured, and safe towing companies are called for service.

According to the lawsuit, the Vidalia Police Department may not impose additional requirements for participating in its towing rotation list beyond those set by the state. The state requires that a towing company be in business for one year before applying to participate.

All Ways Towing participated in Vidalia’s towing rotation from 2016 until November 2018. Craig and Patti Sanders decided to resume vehicle towing operations through All Ways in November 2022 and completed license and inspection requirements in June 2023, the suit states.

The suit claims All Ways Towing received a letter from the chief stating it was added back to the town’s rotation list in the summer of 2023 “based on the mistaken belief” that All Ways Towing was on the LSP Troop E Vehicle Towing Rotation List.

The suit claims All Ways Towing has not received any towing assignment for traffic incidents since February 2024 and that a significant source of the plaintiff’s income comes from the regular calls for service by being on the Vidalia list.

They are suing for compensatory damages as well as all legal fees.

A pretrial conference is set to take place no later than Feb. 10.

Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft also declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“Since it is a lawsuit, I can’t comment on it, though I’d love to,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that something like this brings the town into the news. As a municipality, we’re making sure anything we do is done legally.”