Disabled vet rips cop who told him he couldn’t park in handicap spot because ‘You can walk’

a reply to: Annee

I would hope most people see it your way.

People that need the benefit should have it. I tend to drop the SO of at the door, park, and make the walk. I leave close spaces for people who need it, plus the lazy a** people. I'll use the close parking the day I need it.

The cop in this case could have used more tact if he was so concerned the man wasn't legally using the space.

a reply to: Night Star

I'm sorry to hear of your problems but glad you have a good state of mind. Your a person who should get the short walk.

I think people who cheat the HC park are pretty darn low. I would imagine it has to be on the short end of enforcement's list though.

originally posted by: roadgravel
a reply to: Night Star
I think people who cheat the HC park are pretty darn low. I would imagine it has to be on the short end of enforcement's list though.

Yeah, they may be darn low, and yeah, we know some people do it, cheat the system, cheat in general, but this cop really shouldn't be making that judgement or assumption. Investigate it if there's suspicion...sure. But not with that kind of attitude.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Classic ...

My favorite line: '...just because I don't look handicapped. You don't look well enough to be a*&^%$ officer with your gut hanging over your stomach."

OMG /... I just had to getyout of my PC Room just Hearing that ..

Im Dying Here!!

Sick it to the MAN !

a reply to: Wolfenz

I also enjoyed the part about how only "indigent" people got to have handicap parking permits.

UPDATE: Riviera Beach Police Department’s PIO Rose Ann Brown states that the department has opened it’s own investigation, based on the video below into the incident with Officer Wilson – whom they identify as Sergeant Gary Wilson – and who has been with the police force there for a “long time”. The Sergeant Wilson reported the incident yesterday to his department, but Riviera Beach PD only saw the video today, and they would not make Wilson’s report available at this time, as it is now part of an active Internal Affairs investigation file. [Source]

I was looking for updates and found this. An honest mistake.

Lafayette police apologized Monday after a photo of an officer's squad car sitting in a handicap parking space outside an IHOP restaurant drew ire online.

The photo was posted publicly Sunday morning by Facebook user Ryan Schmitt, who claimed his father uses a motorized wheelchair and was forced to park farther from the front door than necessary, due to the officer's actions.

The image was shared more than 1,400 times on Facebook before Schmitt, who didn't respond to a request for comment, either removed his post or altered its privacy settings about 5 p.m. Monday.

A copy of the image posted Monday afternoon to Reddit, an online forum, garnered more than 3,400 comments within five hours.

Lafayette police Chief Patrick Flannelly said the incident, which happened before 7 a.m. Sunday, was a mistake. [Source]

Yeah mistakes happen. To all of us.

originally posted by: Phatdamage
a reply to: ~Lucidity

you hit my $700 phone.....

my $800 phone has a crack in it!

amazing how the phone gained $100 dollars when cracked.

don't agree with the cop though, stupid mall cop

LOL .. Quick witted on his Feet , great marketing skills eh..
you just cracked my phone ..? the phone cost just went up
you bought me a new one. or at least going to pay to repair it

who wouldnt do the same .. Ill admit, the Veteran is sharp .
the only down fall is his cursing in the open public ..
but the 2nd cop understands why he is upset.

with the argument between him and the cop

I see it as fair play.

I agree with the veteran but he shamed himself with his language and demeanor. It would have been much more effective if he spoke with condescending wisdom instead of the foul mouth aggressiveness.

Case in point where a cop could have been busy serving justice but instead is being nosy and picks on someone who doesn't come off as discernibly handicap-no walker, no cain, etc. He wasn't that far from the car yet anyway to tell if he has walking issues? Of course it was an overall heated escalation that shouldn't have been from both sides. One fueling the other. If the phone is damaged, as claimed, then the officer should pay for it as well as be reprimanded.

Article mentions the man saying that the cop's action toward him is racism. Not sure how racism plays into it when they were both African American. Is it just part of the meme going around that people really believe all officers are trained(and fully abide by) to be racially motivated in deciding who to question and or cite? Rather it comes off as someone being nosy and ignorant causing an issue where there should be none.

Omg. That fat ahole has to be one of the most annoying and antagonizing people I've EVER seen. What a jackass!!!

I hope the man files suit and wins. Nothing will happen to the fat cop who CLEARLY harassed him to no end AND broke his phone, maybe a paid vacation but probably not even that.

People like this cop infuriate me...Just another fat POS cop who THINKS he's above the law, and the VA, the State of Florida and doctors as well, apparently.

S&F for the OP!

a reply to: ~Lucidity

This is a tough one... on one hand, this cop is an absolute moron. Its not for him to decide who is disabled by just looking at them.

On the other hand, my brother was in a wheelchair his entire life. He was born with Cerebral Palsy and was a spastic quadriplegic. He clearly looked disabled but that's not why I bring it up. You see his powered wheelchair weighed approximately 400lbs and we needed a conversion van with a wheelchair lift installed for him to be able to get in and out of the car. In order to operate a wheelchair lift, you need space. That is why there is the extra space in handicapped spots.

I cannot tell you how many times an obese person who is perfectly capable of walking would take up those spots, or an old person who is also perfectly capable of walking. Sometimes they are driving sports cars. We have had occasion where someone has just parked as we were pulling up and we would ask politely if we may have the spot (and only when the person was clearly walking without the aid of any cane, walker or other device) would just say no.

There have been senior citizens who have raced into spots to beat us to it and others who have suggested that since my brother was so young, that we should park all the way in the back of the parking lot so we would have the room we need since he would probably like to be out in the sun longer and therefore they didn't have to risk sunburn (true story).

So do I get upset when I see someone walk out of a car, or even run to get out of the rain in a HP spot... you're damned right I do. Do i judge whether or not they are disabled.... never.

Does someone who lost their arm need to park close to the door, or need the extra space? NO

Does someone who lost the use of the arm, and most of one side of their body due to stroke need to park close and use the extra space? YES

Are they both disabled? Absolutely

Do they both need the special parking spot?? NO

a reply to: ~Lucidity

What that cop did was messed up.

There are people with heart conditions that can only do so much distance
but walk perfectly or maybe a lot of distance depending on each day...they
would look totally normal to everyone but they are not. Me mum could only
walk an extremely short distance & would have to sit. Someone who has NO
clue may observe her walking 10 yrds & think she's okay when she could no
longer breathe.
I am disabled after a hip replacement with on going complications & I am
too young for that category. I was left with nerve damage to both legs &
feet. I still need 2 operations...so I make meself walk every day regardless
of pain because it could be my last... I never know from one day to the next
how things will be...I try so hard to hide the pain & the disability...some people
will think nothing is wrong...but I could fall at any moment...the soles of me feet
go to sleep when walking. So I could appear as normal to anyone except close
friends & family. I hate taking the space...I am to have the cane with me at all times
& I also have other issues besides walking which constitutes a service dog.

So I really hope this veteran pushes his rights.

Cheers
Ektar

originally posted by: Helious
I agree with the veteran but he shamed himself with his language and demeanor. It would have been much more effective if he spoke with condescending wisdom instead of the foul mouth aggressiveness.

Not everyone can speak with that condescending wisdom but I can certainly cut the vet some slack there. Matter of fact, I think I just did.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

I hope he does file a lawsuit against the one cop. What an idiot, that guy was!! Harassing a disabled vet, for parking legally in a handicapped spot, with a tag to do so??? The second cop was trying to help, and diffuse the situation, and that is all well and good. The first one has no business being a cop, if that's the best he can manage. Even with the second cop trying to talk to the guy, the first cops comes back to them, after they walked a distance away, to get into it again, yelling over the guy, and actually approaching him, getting in his face, while the other cop is there!!

That first cop needs to grow a brain. Disabled doesn't necessarily mean one can't walk at all. Some people can walk short distances, only, and thus really need the closer spaces. My mother was one of those. After a while, she got here she couldn't really walk at all, but she was disabled enough to need the space long before that.

As for Isaiah, the guy taking the video, he deserves a lot more respect than that. Several tours of duty, multiple injuries, and then harassed by some cop that obviously looks down on him for being military?? I'd have been taking video myself, had I been there, and offering to be a witness for him as well.

originally posted by: Echo007
They give almost anyone a handicap placard these days. If you don't use a walker or wheelchair, you shouldn't be given a handicap placard period. If you can walk around inside walmart for over an hour, you don't need to be parking in handicap spot.

The cop screwed up by touching the person, he should in my opinion be forced to pay for repairs on the person phone.

I have to disagree. My mother, gone now, could walk into a store, and not use a walker or wheelchair to do it, but if it was a bigger store, she'd need a motorized cart to do much of anything. A sort distance, or a few minutes, such as in and out of a Walgreen's, she could manage. She was seriously handicapped, too, due to back injuries and nerve damage, some made worse by childhood polio. So, no, someone doesn't necessarily need a walker or wheelchair at the car to deserve a handicapped spot. Now, if someone cal walk around for an hour, that's a different story, and possible fraud. That part, I'll agree with.

I agree, too, that the cop was WAY out of line. He should replace the phone, and get, at best, desk duty. He's too confrontational to be out on the streets.

I really feel for you guys down there. The world sees more than most Americans realize concerning many things, not just your policing issues. Your police culture is F#'d up royally. If it isn't jacked up ignorant low I.Q poorly trained cops like the one in the OP; then it's the many racist cops who ruin the currency of one's life simply because of hate.

Check this one out: they did this to him in front of his children as he was waiting to pick them up from school in a public place.



In this one: They did this to her in front of her child's elementary school.



***Based on my visits to 40 out of 50 States, I find most Americans are sophisticated, intelligent, cultured, and kindhearted people, yet, what a F#'n disgusting culture it is as a whole on many fronts (not just policing) when compared to other first world nations.

Where's the cops on this site? What do they have to say other than singing the mantra, "Most are good". How does your government allow this s# to persist?! More importantly, how do some people continue to justify this crap for themselves?!

Man, I could post a hundred more videos like the ones above. I have two close police friends and whenever American policing comes up, even they shake their heads in bewilderment.

The reason why vets don't have money because I am paying taxes for 2x3 crow cops to harass people over a handicap parking spot.

I do not use a cane but do use a walking staff.

For me a cane twists my wrist and causes pain, A walking staff does not and also the walking stick makes a good staff weapon.

I very rarely use my placard in my home town but mostly use it in the big city when i travel.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

I have a friend whose back was broken badly years ago. Usually his walking looks fine, but too much in a stretch and he breaks down fast, ending up in excruciating pain for weeks. He's never been harassed by a cop for his placard (they must keep the IQs over 60 here), but he has had plenty of civilians do so. It's usually someone who blocks and prowls parking lots, hoping to get a closer space. Usually he ignores them, occasionally, he lifts up his shirt and shows them the disgusting spidered bruising covering 2/3 of his back while cursing them out.

And i thought by 8 years old most people knew you didn't have to be a quadriplegic to have handicapped plates.