LF: Photo Of Cop Parked In Handicap Spot (In Front of IHOP )Goes Viral

Title: Photo Of Cop Parked In Handicap Spot (In Front of IHOP )Goes Viral
Source: Opposing Views
URL Source: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/soci ... arked-handicap-spot-goes-viral
Published: Jul 14, 2015
Author: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
Post Date: 2015-07-15 11:11:52 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 6127
Comments: 27

A photo of a police car parked in a spot designated for handicap patrons of an IHOP in Lafayette, Indiana, has gone viral.

The image, which was posted to Reddit by a user TheToolMan, was captioned “My local police must be responding to a pancake emergency.”

TheToolMan also claimed the officer who took the parking spot was inside the restaurant having breakfast.

Lafayette Police Department Chief Patrick J. Flannelly in Indiana told WTTV “It was incredibly disappointing to see the image and embarrassing to our agency. Outside of an officer responding to the business for life saving action there is no reason for a police car to be parked in that spot, period.”

Chief Flannelly said that the officer who parked the police vehicle was not there on official business. The unidentified officer told his leader that he didn’t realize it was a handicap parking spot and was embarrassed by his mistake and apologized.

The Lafayette Police Department noted that the space was improperly marked and determined that the officer had made a mistake.

The photo has already been viewed over a million times.

Sources: WTTV, Reddit Image via Reddit

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The unidentified officer told his leader that he didn’t realize it was a handicap parking spot and was embarrassed by his mistake and apologized. The Lafayette Police Department noted that the space was improperly marked and determined that the officer had made a mistake.

Lying scumbag cops, you can't see the effing handicapped symbol?

Anyone else (non-cop) doing this would be cited and forced to pay a hefty fine.

This is untrue, it was not “TheToolMan’s” local police. The image was originally posted by Ryan Schmitt on his Facebook timeline. That is not the caption Schmitt placed on https://www.facebook.com...

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. "I believe this is called abusing your power. Parking in a handicap spot when your not handicap and now my father had to park further from the door than he already had to," Schmitt wrote. A copy of the image posted Monday afternoon to Reddit, an online forum, garnered more than 3,400 comments within five hours.

This is also untrue, the officer was identified as Jason Savage. Savage has 15 years service without a single disciplinary action, he has a perfect performance record. Savage said he did not see the handicapped marking on the ground and "was unaware that it was there until a citizen (inside IHOP) pointed it out to him. He was very embarrassed and apologetic for his mistake." He moved his vehicle. He self-reported the incident to his commander.

Investigators visited the restaurant and noted that not only was the space not properly marked as a handicapped space, but no vehicle would have been ticketed for parking in the space….regardless of who was driving. Because the painted symbol on the ground is easy to miss, or fades through time and with vehicles driving over it….a signage is required to be placed at eye level in front of the parking spot so it can be easily seen.

However, Officer Savage still should have noticed the improper signage on the pavement and not parked there, to save embarrassment to himself and the department. Furthermore, Schmitt should have approached Savage in IHOP, like the other patron did, and Savage would have moved his vehicle. Apparently Schmitt later realized this, as evidence of his quick removal of the picture from his Facebook page. Schmitt will not respond to any calls by the media for an interview.

This is a trumped up story, though but it does show, that even though it took a while, suburban white people now hate the po-lice as much as inner city blacks do! LOL!

I don’t feel this is the sentiment being expressed by “John and Jane American.” All this cop hate is something being ginned up and promulgated by small, but extremely loud, dedicate hate groups. They come on the Internet to trumpet hate for police with a constant 24/7 discordant presence. They even post to each other: “Spread this.”

Performing an internet search using the word police and adding corrupt, abuse, brutality and so on brings up not just random rants….it brings up real organized hate movements working in concert. Mixed in there, a lots of attorney advertisements are to be found.

This is the basis for the cop hate issue. Trying to be realistic, we must acknowledge that our safety on the street and our survival in the courts is severely compromised by this uncontrolled and militant prejudice. We need only look no further than New York City and Baltimore to validate this.

You should get a job writing propaganda for the police unions - this is exactly the same type of bilge that they would disseminate.

Your defense of corrupt and criminal cops and your submissive fealty to the police state is beyond repulsive.

I take offense at those who call themselves Americans and supposedly are in favor of liberty who have the pro-police state mindset that you have.

That’s good to know. Then I will double down with the fact finding. I want you to continue to be upset and take umbrage upon hearing facts. It pleased me to know that feel resentment or emotional pain when you are confronted with the truth as I expose the yellow journalism in the articles you cherry pick for bias and post.