§ 18-16-507 - Writ of possession.
18-16-507. Writ of possession.
(a) Upon receipt of a writ of possession from the clerk of the court, the sheriff or police chief shall immediately proceed to execute the writ of possession in the specific manner described in this section and, if necessary, ultimately by ejecting from the property described in the writ of possession the defendant or defendants and any other person or persons who have unlawfully received or entered into the possession of the property after the issuance of the writ of possession, and then notify the plaintiff that the property has been vacated by the defendant or defendants.
(b) (1) Upon receipt of the writ of possession, the sheriff or police chief shall notify the defendant or defendants of the issuance of the writ of possession by delivering a copy of the writ of possession to the defendant or defendants or to any person authorized to receive summons in civil cases and in like manner.
(2) If within eight (8) hours after receipt of the writ of possession the sheriff or police chief does not find any such defendant as stated in the complaint at his or her normal place of residence, the sheriff or police chief may serve the writ of possession by placing a copy conspicuously upon the front door or other structure of the property described in the complaint, which shall have like effect as if delivered in person pursuant to the terms of the writ of possession.
(c) (1) (A) If at the expiration of twenty-four (24) hours after the service of the writ of possession in the manner indicated the defendant or defendants remain in possession of the property, the sheriff or police chief shall notify the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney of that fact and may employ, may engage, and shall be provided with all labor and assistance required by the sheriff or police chief to obtain possession and remove the possessions and belongings of the defendant or defendants from the affected property to a place of storage in a public warehouse or in some other reasonable safe place of storage under the control of the plaintiff.
(B) (i) The defendant or defendants may recover the property stored under subdivision (c)(1)(A) within seven (7) business days.
(ii) Before recovering the property, the defendant or defendants shall pay for the reasonable cost of storage.
(2) If the defendant or defendants do not recover the property as provided in subdivision (c)(1) of this section, then the court shall order the possessions and belongings of the defendant or defendants sold by the plaintiff in a commercially reasonable manner with the proceeds of the sale applied first to the cost of storage, second to any monetary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, and third to the defendant any excess.
(d) In executing the writ of possession, the sheriff or police chief may forcibly remove all locks or other barriers erected to prevent entry upon the premises in any manner which he or she deems appropriate or convenient and, if necessary, physically restrain the defendant or defendants from interfering with the removal of a defendant's property and possessions from the property described in the writ of possession.
(e) If the plaintiff is the city attorney or prosecuting attorney, no bond shall be required. If the plaintiff is the landlord or premises owner, no bond shall be required unless ordered by the court as a condition to the execution of a writ of possession granted prior to the date that an answer is to be filed by the defendant or defendants.
(f) The sheriff or police chief shall return the writ of possession at or before the return date of the writ of possession and shall state in his or her return the manner in which he or she executed the writ of possession and whether or not the defendant or defendants have been ejected from the property described and, if not, the reason for the failure of the sheriff or police chief to do so.
(g) As used in this section, "sheriff or police chief" includes a deputy sheriff, police officer, or other law enforcement official acting at the direction of the sheriff or police chief.