Officer’s ‘friendly warning’ for handicapped parking nets drug stash

By Mary Manning

Published Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 | 10:02 a.m.

Updated Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 | 10:45 a.m.

A man who parked illegally in a handicapped parking space at a Las Vegas park was arrested this morning with a cache of illegal drugs.

Clark County Park Police stopped to investigate the gray car parked in a handicapped zone about 8 a.m. today, Sgt. Rick Binyons said.

As police approached, the driver got out of the car, which was parked near two playground areas in Paradise Park at Tropicana Avenue and McLeod Street, Binyons said. The man struggled with a park police officer, who took the unidentified man into custody.

The officer had approached the car to give the driver a "friendly warning" about parking in the handicapped zone, Binyons said. "Luckily, it was so early in the morning, so no children were in the park," he said.

The man was taken to the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of possessing drugs for sale or distribution, Binyons said. Drugs in balloons were found on the front seat of the car, which was impounded.

"Right now we don't know how much narcotics are in the vehicle," Binyons said. "It was a large amount."

Binyons said officers found a knife near the driver's side door.

The park police patrol 100 parks in Clark County, Binyons said. There are 18 officers who cover everything from illegal drugs to domestic disputes in those parks.

Park police have been patrolling county parks since 1978 after former Sheriff Jerry Keller saw more crime-related activity at the parks, said Binyons, an 18-year veteran. Last year park officers responded to 10,000 calls in area parks, and those calls increase roughly 10 percent a year, he said.