I finish up, kill the lights, and step outside about 10:10. Lo, the sheriff's deputy who was busy writing someone a ticket on Espola in front of the football stadium when I arrived, he's now standing next to my car. This isn't a surprise--when they see cars in the lot in the off-hours, they usually do drive through to investigate. I'm all for it. We've had trouble with vandalism, including dickmunch skateboarders who think it's okay to cut railings so they can shoot video of themselves jumping off small hills. What is a surprise is the ticket under my wiper.
"Is this your car?"
"Sure is."
"Do you know you're parked in a disabled zone?"
"Sure. But this late at night, I'd like to keep it close to the building."
"Well, I wrote it."
Well, how about un-writing it? During the day, or while any other event is going on, where any other people might be parked in the lot, I'll park legally. But that late, one of the last things I want to do is walk out of a pitch-dark gym into a pitch-dark parking lot with an armfull of stuff and walk any further to the car than I need to. There's no contention for those spaces, and I'm bloody staff (evidenced by the parking tag stuck to the glass right next to where he placed the ticket,) so discretion is not an unreasonable expectation. If it were $20, I'd pay it and write it off as a nuisance. But it's $330.
Arguing with cops outside the presence of a judge is never a good idea. And I have People who are now looking into it anyways...
