“Doesn’t seem okay to me”: Police slammed for parking in disabled spot
NSW Police have come under fire after an outraged Sydney driver called out a patrol car that was parked in a disabled parking spot.
A furious driver spotted the police vehicle outside a state election early-voting centre in Mascot on Monday, and snapped a photo of the Hyundai Sonata police car in the clearly labelled disabled parking zone.
They then posted the picture to Reddit, with the infuriated motorist captioning the post, “Police parking in a disabled spot so they can vote in Mascot. Where should I complain?”
“I have no issue with them voting while on the clock, I do have an issue with them having to park in a disabled spot,” the driver commented.
“They have five more days to vote, even if they can’t find time when they’re not working, they can at least wait until they’re not disadvantaging a disabled person.”
The driver, who has firsthand experience of battling to claim a disabled parking space for their chronically ill parent, called out the brazen officers for not thinking how this act could significantly impact accessibility requirements for people with disabilities.
“My mum had MS and this kind of sh*t would mean we’d need to turn around and go home,” they said.
“For people with severe and debilitating disabilities, these spots are vital to them even being able to leave the house. Blocking a spot so they can vote in an election that isn’t until the weekend doesn’t seem okay to me.
“There were no other spots between there and the polling station. The election isn’t now, or even tomorrow. (The officers) had time to wait for a non-disabled spot.”
The post went viral on Reddit, with a spokesperson for NSW Police saying they’re looking into the situation after being notified about the incident.
The comments on the post were divided after many people sided with the officers, saying officers on patrol should be remaining close to their vehicles in case of an emergency.
“Arguably, emergency services are probably better off parking in convenient accessible locations,” one person said.
“I agree a disabled spot sounds a bit sh*tty, but you wouldn’t want them having to rush to level 4 of a nearby multi-story carpark to take an urgent call like a domestic violence response.”
“It’s very important for the officers to (be) close to their patrol car in case of an emergency. Stop having a whinge,” another comment read.
Meanwhile, others were more sympathetic towards the person who posted the photo and agreed the officers should have parked elsewhere.
“As a disabled person, this is really disappointing to read,” one person said.
“I greatly appreciate someone sticking up for people like myself. Not a lot of people will.”
Another supporter added, “Yeah that’s not on. I have a disability and I’m tired of people parking in our spots when they don’t have a disability.”
According to the NSW state government website, “heavy fines apply for stopping in spaces reserved for people with disabilities, or using a permit that infringes its conditions of use.”
Image credits: Reddit