[NeighborsComplaint]

A buddy and I went for a ride in my GTO with it's newly sorted out 4 wheel disc brakes working as they should. I decided to go to the bank and get some cash. I avoid the drive-up ATM's there because the lanes are really tight and rim scrapes are a fact of life there. I pulled into a parking spot and my buddy says "Why don't you park in the handicapped so no one will park next to you? He knows I have a disability placard and walk with a cane. I told him "I left the placard in my other car and I'm not taking a chance on a $350 fine. I parked, went into the lobby to the ATM and a lady came up and said "Your friend is having an argument with someone in the parking lot and the cops were called." I just laughed and said "As long as nobody hit my car I'm fine."

I walked out to see two squads and a bunch of back and forth going on between my buddy and some lady. Turns out she pulled into the handicapped spot adjacent to the spot I was in (un-restricted) and my buddy took exception with her noticing she had no handicapped placard or plate. I looked at my buddy, laughed and said "You got Karen all riled up and she called the cops?" He just grinned and said "Yeah, how stupid can you be to park illegally and then call the cops to come and write you a $350 ticket?" Mission accomplished, my buddy and I just crossed our arms to watch things unfold.

One cop was trying to calm "Karen" down while the other came over to us and said "We're just going to give her a verbal warning. She says her husband is handicapped and has the placard in their other car. I had watched as her husband came out of the bank looking as fit as can be and walking steadily and comfortably to the car while I'm relying on my cane to keep me upright.

I told the cop, "Look I'm late to the party, but I also have a handicapped placard in my other car and I wouldn't think of taking a handicapped spot if I am not complying with the law and displaying the placard. I said "The guy looks pretty healthy to me, run his license and see if he has a valid handicapped placard like she claims. I'm damn near crippled but I still follow the law which is why I'm parked over here. Besides that, he has to display the placard to legally park in a handicapped spot."

The other cop came over after hearing my response and said "I'll write her a warning, is that ok?" to which I responded "You do whatever you want, but you might as well hand the warning to me so I can throw it out for her. If I were in her shoes, you'd be saying "I'm not buying your story, you have a nice shiny hot rod and just want to protect it by using a handicapped spot. Here's your ticket, you can pay by mail or appear in court."

I know cops are supposed to have better things to do and her husband may actually have a valid handicapped placard, but he's not in possession of it which by law is a $350 fine.

OK, I'm headed out to get a life now. lol