Caughtya™

Police Car in Handicap Parking Car #55

This police car, plate G-243DY, was parked illegally in a disability parking space in Coolidge, Arizona on 21 June, 2007.

Other details, if available

It is bad enough Coolidge PD refuses to enforce handicap parking, they have to use HP space when not involved in an emergency, which would allow special driving privileges. 

10 Responses to “Police Car in Handicap Parking Car #55”

1. floridian says:

   28 June 2007 at 1:32 pm

   I SAY SHAME SHAME SHAME ON THE POLICE....THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER.......
2. gimmiehedfred says:

   28 June 2007 at 4:53 pm

   Was this hadicapped spot in front of a doughnut shop? Cuz if it was then the cops have a special dispensation by the pope to park there...oink oink
3. crystalsword says:

   28 June 2007 at 5:08 pm

   No donut shop in the whole town!
4. PolishBear says:

   30 June 2007 at 12:57 am

   THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNFORGIVEABLE.

   I immediately went to the website of the Coolidge, AZ, police department, found the email address for police chief, James Palmer, and fired off the following message:

   DEAR CHIEF PALMER:

   It has come to my attention that one your police vehicles was illegally parked in a handicapped space on June 21. Additional information about this incident can be seen here:
   http://caughtya.org/united-states/2007/06/police-car-in-handicap-parking-car-55.html

   I was not aware that police have such special parking priviliges. How can we as citizens be expected to exercise respect for the law, when the police themselves set such a poor example?

   Respectfully,
   CHUCK ANZIULEWICZ

   You can see the staff directory for the Coolidge, AZ, police department here:
   http://www.coolidgeaz.com/index.asp?NID=97
5. James Palmer says:

   30 June 2007 at 5:27 am

   Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I looked into this and identified the officer. This is an example of how having only part of the facts can bias a conclusion. The officer was waved down by a frantic store manager because of a distrubance and theft inside the store just moments before this photo was taken. The officer parked next to the clerk which placed him in a handicap spot, and ran into the store. There were other handicap spots available, and yes, police officers do have authority to park where they need to in order to have their caged unit available for prisoners or to retrieve equipment in a situation such as this. Department policy would dictate disciplinary action in this case if the officer used the space simply for personal convenience. Jp
6. Allen says:

   30 June 2007 at 6:09 am

   There was a non-handicap space the second space to the right of the car. The whole time we were at the store, the officer was walking around in the store, hardly looking like an emergency situation. I heard him speaking to a blonde employee about someone he had seen at the park. It didn't look to a former officer that there was any emergency situation in existence. I am sorry chief, but a hysterical person at one moment does not extend forever. From the South entrance, there is a non HP space, an HP space, the HP space where unit 55 was. Usually we see the cars park facing north and south directly west of the two large entrances. these are Fire Lanes, but it is where we expect to see cars, like when they pick up shoplifters.
7. Allen says:

   30 June 2007 at 8:37 am

   Dear Chief Palmer, I have nothing but the deepest respect for the Coolidge P.D. I worked in more than one instance with them in my time as an officer. We spoke with a Coolidge officer and asked him point blank why the PD does not enforce the handicap parking. We were told that the officers of the Coolidge PD had been specifically ordered not to write any parking tickets, as they did not have the correct citation forms. Beg pardon? I wrote many citations for various infractions, using the same sitation form, as it was the only one we used. We have tried to flag Coolidge PD cars, pointing out cars parked il;legally in handicap spaces or in the striped areas in parking lots, only to have them laugh and wave as they drove by. If Coolidge would have a program, such as found in Texas, where handicapped retired people are given a four hour training class, then given a ticket book, to enforce handicap parking, that would be great. The people would have to do this under the auspices of a police agency, yet would not tie up police resources. I have already approached Sheriff Vasquez with this idea. It has been working in Texas, and I understand that Casa Grande has a program like this. The revenues going into the city coffers would be nice.
8. Catty says:

   30 June 2007 at 10:05 am

   It seems to me this is a political farce where someone is angry with local law enforcement and trying to stir the pot a bit. Do you have nothing better to do than sit around watching what these police officers are doing wrong? Why don't you look at what they are doing right in your community and thank an officer for a job well done. God knows they deserve and need it.
9. Allen says:

   30 June 2007 at 10:37 am

   No, Catty, we found out not too long ago about caughtya.org. The city we live near, Coolidge, is one where the handicap parking situation is a farce. Cars park in handicap parking spaces at wiil, the pull into the striped areas which in some cases prevent any handicapped person with a side ramp or lift from being able to get their chair or scooter out of their vehicle. Motorcycle riders think that the striped areas are put there to provide parking for motorcycles. No one enforces handicapped parking in Coolidge. Down the road, in Casa Grande, the police are so gung ho, they wrote a cab driver a ticket for parking in a handicap space, even though 1. it was not a parking space. 2. the cab was not parked, but was stopped, in gear. 3. a passanger was being let out. The officer failed to show up in court, so the charge was dismissed. The Pinal County Sheriff's Dept, will not enforce parking in Coolidge, of course, and Coolidge will not enforce it. Generally, Coolidge PD does a good job of serving the public. But everyone in the area knows they can park with immunity in handicap parking spaces because they will not get a ticket for it. It just so happened that a Coolidge patrol car was parked in a handicap space that night, just as there had been a Maricopa County Sheriff's car parked in a handicap space, blocking a ramp. A lady who was to give a speech on programs for the handicapped was blocked form accessing the building. That was on local TV. All I am suggesting is that some retired, handicapped people be given the authority and training to enforce handicap parking, which would put a nice bit of money in the city coffers, but would not use police resources. Catty, are you handicapped? Do you not understand the difficulties presented to the handicapped by people ignoring the markings for handicap parking? All we want is the access laws to be enforced.
10. Webmaster says:

    30 June 2007 at 11:17 am

    PolishBear, thank you for bringing this to the attention of Chief Palmer.

    Chief Palmer, thank you for taking this seriously and looking into it.

    While Caughtya agrees that there are often better places to park emergency vehicles than in disability parking spaces, we also recognise that sometimes, police officers, and other emergency staff have other things on their minds when responding to what they perceive as a potentially threatening situation.

    I am sure that this particular officer will consider where he stops next time he pulls in somewhere.

    Let's consider this matter closed :)