Police Crack Down On Illegal Handicap Parking

A Reynoldsburg police officer said on Friday that he issued an average of one citation per day last year to people who illegally parked in handicap parking spots.

Reynoldsburg police said that they were cracking down on illegal parking, because it was one of their top complains from city residents.

Officer Jim Rodgers said the number of violations he sees each day is eye-opening, 10TV’s Josh Poland reported.

“It’s happening,” Rodgers said. “It’s happening a lot more than I thought it was.”

Rodgers said that the misuses he sees range from parking with expired placards to using placards from dead relatives.

Rodgers said that the fine for illegal use of the placards is $315 in Reynoldsburg.

“The amount of warnings I’ve given out besides the citations is double, triple that,” Rodgers said. “I can’t put a number to it.”

Republican Sen. Jim Hughes said that the parking violations were occurring more places than just Reynoldsburg.

“Reynoldsburg is not isolated in terms of this happening,” Hughes said. “It’s happening too much.”

Hughes said that he was looking to introduce legislation that would make the use of fictitious placards a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

The penalty would be 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.

Rodgers said he wanted to do whatever it would take to cut down on the number of violators.

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