Traffic cops have a reputation for being ruthless about handing out tickets, but in this video, an officer goes a step too far, allegedly writing a ticket before the meter expires.
In the clip, Los Angeles traffic officer Luisito Calaguing allegedly writes a ticket, although 5 minutes clearly remain on the parking meter. The video was uploaded to YouTube on Sept. 16 by user "gabefrie."
Update: NBC Los Angeles reports that the parking ticket that Calaguing wrote was valid, after an anonymous tipster came forward to claim responsibility for putting extra money in the meter after it had expired and the officer started writing the ticket.
The man who filmed and posted the YouTube video, Gabriel Friedman, updated his description, apologized to Calaguing and paid the fine.
Previously: In the video description, the man who filmed the incident (and received the $64 ticket) says he did not begin recording immediately but claimed that no time was added to the meter prior to filming.
"These particular meters only accept dollar coins and quarters -- had I put a quarter in, it would have read twenty-five minutes, not five," he wrote.
In the video, Calaguing cooperates by showing his badge to the camera. In a Sept. 17 update to his post, the author said that he had contacted the Los Angeles Parking Violations Bureau, which informed him that the ticket had not yet been entered into the system. He plans to dispute the ticket once a review date is set.
The Los Angeles City Council approved a $5 parking ticket hike in July, angering some residents. The fee hike was LA's sixth parking ticket increase in seven years.
Police across the United States have been in the news for making questionable decisions lately.
In Philadelphia last week, a police officer fined one mother $50 after her toddler peed on the sidewalk. In Texas, a policeman dragged a 77-year-old woman from her car during a roadside stop after she allegedly refused to show him her identification.
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