Dashcam footage involving a California police officer is drawing attention online after she allegedly failed to notice a disabled parking placard because she was not tall enough to see it. The car owner, understandably outraged, shared the video on r/mildlyinfuriating, claiming that the police station defended the officer’s height and blamed the owner for not displaying the placard more visibly. Many online users argue that the frustrating incident could justify legal action.
“Goodbye $480. Thanks for robbing me Azusa, CA,” Reddit user cybertronicify wrote cynically in their post. They explained how, at the police station, they were told that the officer “is not tall like us” and won’t “hover over your SUV” to look for your placard. Not only were people upset that the officer made this mistake at all, but they found the fact OP might need to take this to court even more aggravating
“[I’m] not sure why you are going to pay the fine? You literally have dashcam footage,” remarked a Redditor, with another commenter pointing out how it appeared the officer looked right at the placard. “That ‘she’s too short to see it’ excuse is wild,” laughed a second. “Being short isn’t an excuse to not do your job, even disabled people have to adapt,” added another.
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On the other hand, some people pointed out that placards should be hung from the rear-view mirror. However, if OP’s vehicle doesn’t have one, placing the placard on the dashboard would have been acceptable. Others criticized cybertronicify for going to the police in the first place, arguing that OP should have taken the ticket directly to court.
There is no height requirement for police officers in California. However, many believe the more significant issue is the failure to display the placard on the rear-view mirror, if the vehicle has one. Additionally, there is no evidence that the officer acted in bad faith or with malice toward the car owner; she was simply doing her job.
Still, many commenters were puzzled as to why the OP chose to pay the $480 fine without contesting the ticket. “A judge will dismiss it easily if you’ve followed the law,” one Redditor wrote.
