Letter: Nonresident asserts he was victimized by parking enforcement

Tuesday, Dec. 23, 1997 | 10:47 a.m.

At 4:40 p.m. Dec. 10, I put a quarter in meter 84-4 on 4th Street. That means the meter was valid for 30 minutes. At 5:07 p.m., I returned to my car with my wife to find a parking ticket issued by Officer 456. There were three minutes left on the meter; the ticket was issued at 4:45 p.m.

After the usual bureaucratic runaround with parking enforcement and city workers, I was forced, due to time and location restraints, to pay the fine. I was informed by a parking enforcement official, it was my word against Officer 456. Who do you think the court will side with?

It's not the money, it is the principle of the thing. I fear nothing will be done to check the behavior of loose-cannon meter wardens, and they will continue to take advantage of out-of-staters. This is so very sad, as it puts the honesty and integrity of the parking enforcement division into question.

A sympathetic Metro Police clerical employee informed me that this has happened before. I feel it is my duty to inform the residents of Las Vegas and other parts of the country about parking departments' creative financing.

Anthony Scott, Tigard, Ore.