He lives in the same building. Watched him pull out of a perfectly good spot yesterday just to back his car in here. He leaves it parked like this all weekend. The only way into the breezeway is where his car is. When there's a car in the empty spot, there's barely enoyspace to get through. If someone has a medical emergency or there's a fire...we're screwed.
I wanted a picture as proof of how long it sat there. I'm planning on calling first thing tomorrow, but honestly don't know if should call the complex first.
Consider calling via google phone or whatever that service is called; cops are notoriously petty and vengeful and I wouldn’t put it past em to run you down via your phone number and harass you.
Can you trust your property management company not to release your name/address to the tow company nor the officer?
I worked for a massive property management company while in college—I’m fairly certain management is gonna defer to the police, as property managers really need police presence nearby.
Yes I agree, call and speak with the officers department. No heads-ups want to deal with this publicity nightmare. Call them and let them know that if they don't speak with the officer you have a news van that is asking for a comment.
Disagree- public perception- police departments don’t need bad press. I’m sure if one called the department (as the phone calls are all recorded) and spoke to a supervisor or IA officer, there would be action. It’s no longer “the old days” when cops are going to show up and beat your ass because you complained about them. Ever hear of body cameras, witnesses, cameras ? Let’s be honest- they know who the car is assigned to.
So living in fear or thinking nothing will get done prevents you from acting? That’s pretty sad.
Sure, report it to the police, but don’t stop there! Bring pictures and present them during open hours at the town hall meeting. Bring all of your friends and the local newspaper reporter. If the town council thinks they’ll lose re-election over this, they will do something about it.
This kind of thing is only allowed because cops have infinite immunity and a culture of protecting themselves so even something blatantly wrong and easy to correct like this will never be addressed
I don't blame em. Reported a cop once for blocking my car in a parking spot while he illegally parked to grab food. I had waited just over 15 mins before calling the non emerg line, and he came out around 5 mins after that. I'm pretty sure his boss called him cause he was not happy, but I guess boss gave enough info that he knew I had called so he was able to record and run my plates (I'm assuming). Guess who was constantly parked outside my house most days/nights, for nearly a month after that. Everytime he left for a call or something, he'd come right back a couple hours later. Was told there was nothing wrong as he was "just on patrol" or "doing paperwork somewhere quiet".
If you inconvenience them even a little bit, they will absolutely fuck with you. I don't need that stress in my life, and I'm guess neither does OP.
For those unfamiliar with the law, that isnt illegal unless that is a fire zone or part of a handicap space. However, the complex owner can have it towed for parking in an area marked as prohibited by the owner. I doubt they'd do that, or that they could find a tow company that would. The tow company wouldn't want to piss off the police and, more importantly, there could be a gun in that vehicle. They don't want to take responsibility for that.
A commenter mentioned calling the police and talking to a supervisor. This is the way. I seriously doubt the department would be okay with this. It looks bad to the public. That dumbass cop would have some explaining to do.
A cop parked right on the line at McDonalds one day. The spot next to him was open so I went in there like normal. It was hard to get out but entertaining to watch the cop struggle cuz of his own stupidity
He behaves this way because he thinks he’s untouchable. Report it to the police station, the fire department and complain to the building manager. Be sure to document everything. You may also want to send these pictures to your local news station. Just try to remain anonymous because cops are notorious for responding like spoiled children.
This reminds me of New York City where cops would just park their personal vehicles on any sidewalk they wanted. Literally on the sidewalk.
Toe companies don’t have the authority to tow randomly. Typically they need to have a contract in place if it’s private property or they need authorization from… law enforcement 🙃
I have question for all the people saying "call a tow truck" Do you honestly believe that a tow truck driver will actually tow a cop car just because some random person called to say so? Be honest now.
Reddit absolutely believes a tow company will tow anyone with any phone call. The reality is, they will tow usually only when the property owner calls or when/if the tenants have been given explicit permission to the tow company by the property owner to be able to call in their own tows. There can be hefty fines for tow companies that tow illegally and this is why most of them tow a tight line on private apartment complexes.
Not to mention that cop cars in most (all?) places do have legal right to stop or park anywhere if it's necessary in the course of their duties. Whether it actually is necessary is a whole other question but it's incredibly unlikely that a tow company could prove it wasn't.
I had foot surgery last year and was using a scooter while I recovered. We went to a local restaurant for dinner one night and some jerkwad with a handicap tag had parked in the yellow lines between the spots, blocking access to the ramp.
I was pissed, because I kind of needed that ramp, so as I hauled my scooter up on to the sidewalk I made a loud comment about idiots who think they are the only people in the universe.
Well, as my husband walked past the car, the lady IN THE CAR rolled down her window and apologized to him for her husband being an idiot.
I’d suggest asking the complex if they let him park there. We had the same issue at our place because the apartment company wanted him to park it there so they looked like a safer community
Pretty sure you can call a tow truck for this violation. If the lights aren't on in an official capacity, then its just like any other car parking illegally.
this is reddits favorite reply to any parking issues
Reality is getting a tow truck company to pow a random vehicle is a lot harder and more complicated then it seems. Depends on the county in most cases or the city rules
Exactly. Emergency vehicle status doesn't automatically grant immunity from parking regulations. If they're not responding to an emergency or performing official duties, the usual parking rules should apply.
Would never happen. First and foremost it's a cop car, no tow company is going to touch that even if you do consider it to be illegally parked.
Secondary, calling a tow company to come and tow a vehicle isn't some magical spell that fixes the problem immediately. This is an online myth that gets regurgitated up every time a similar topic comes up. The towing company will first need to run the plates to find out some info on the vehicle and if it's all in order from this initial check, they will probably tell you to wait 24 hours before contacting them again if the issue continues. If they choose to follow through, they will also assess the situation and decide if it's worth their effort so on and so on.
The only time a tow company will jump to move a vehicle is if they are instructed to do so by the police or the vehicle is abandoned and potentially worth scrap money to them
I agree that most tow operators are going to be unenthusiastic about towing a cop car…
But the whole thing about running plates or telling you to wait 24 hours… maybe this varies by region but I’ve lived in areas with permit and guest parking where the tow operators were so fast they’d occasionally tow guests’ cars in the time it took to walk to and from the house they were visiting to get a guest parking tag. If someone’s parked where they’re not supposed to be then IME a tow operator is towing immediately.
To be fair, they do this when headed to non-emergency calls. I did some ride alongs with my local police department for a research paper in college and the officers explained that they still need to get to non-emergency calls quickly but not so much that they go full lights and sirens and speed down the road.
I mean, I’m sure there are bad cops who do it any time they want, but I also know there’s a reason for it sometimes as well
This isn't a fire code thing though? The lines are for handicapped parking. Those vans need a lot of space for the ramp. I'm sure FD would step in anyways.
Bring it up with apartment management. There’s a possibility that he is parking there because they asked him to. Apartments often give a discount to officers who rent there for doing property checks, checking for broken lighting, and because they feel like having a marked car in the parking lot is a crime deterrent. They may have asked him to park in front of the building in that area. It will typically be open since nobody else parks there. But there’s a reason that vacant space exists and as you pointed out, this is causing an inconvenience.
Alternatively, they may tell you that they didn’t tell him to park there, they don’t know why he’s parking there, and they don’t want him to park there. In which case they can ask him to stop, which leaves you out of it. And if he refuses to do so they can fine him for the parking violations, and/or complain to his chain of command at the PD. No matter, what it leaves you out of dealing with it directly in case he’s a jerk.
He knows the law and knows it’s private property so no tickets issued.
Personally I don’t trust any police so I’d go out of my way to make this happen.Do it anonymously if possible because if he park in that spot he believes that the law does not apply to him.
A police friend of mine was at a presentation at a major corporation, he was in uniform and drove there in a police cruiser. He parked in the front parking lot near the main entrance.
A security guard asked him discreetly to move his cruiser to another lot, apparently it was embarrassing the company as it was making passerby's think there was something wrong.
My police friend politely but firmly said no and explained there was a shotgun in the trunk so he wasn't allowed to park it where it could not be seen or gotten quickly to by him in case of an emergency.
In OP's instance this doesn't apply as the cop is at home and off-duty. I sure hope he doesn't keep firearms in the vehicle overnight.
Many tow truck companies are affiliated with/authorized by law enforcement agencies. They get a lot of business from towing vehicles to impound. They're not going to tow a cop car. And those who aren't affiliated with the police, know better than to make enemies of them.
They'd park in front of the garage door for the cart room all the time when I worked at Walmart. Customer's would have to come outside if they wanted a cart because I refused to take the carts off the cart pusher just to go around them.
simikarly yall ever notice they always open their door as recklessly as possible whenever they park on the street? it's like they know they can fuck up your life if you don't anticipate that and hit their door
He can park wherever he needs to when he's on duty. Send an anomymous complaint to his boss with a photo. You def don't want him to know it's you complaining.
I feel like an email or note to the landlord could solve this problem and it has nothing to do with him being a cop it's because he's parking his vehicle in a loading zone and a walkway.
OP the only real recourse other than asking the neighbor nicely is to gather evidence this is happening repeatedly and find a way to get it to his boss. Calling the cops or a tow truck driver on the cops isn't going to get you the outcome you want, and comes with risk you're on their shit list.
If you want something done wait a few more days and tell neighbor it needs to stop and you have a lot of evidence, if no changes go to police station and ask to speak to someone in the person's chain of command, be overly respectful during that conversation. That's pretty much the only way to fix something like this in USA
A tow company won't do anything for liability reasons, they generally work with the police on a regular basis and possibly know this person.
Better off reporting it to the department through the non emergency line. Most departments do not want their officers being AHs like this in their cop car while off duty, gives the department a bad name for allowing entitled BS.
We have one of these to the side of van accessible handicap space but since there is never a van it gets used as a regular handicap space and this space becomes another handicap.
It doesn’t look like a real cop car it looks more like a security cop car but without seeing the side of it idk and security cops are not even real cops I don’t think metro Davidson co would be this dumb
Report it to the fire department specifically. It's a violation of fire code, the fire department typically has their chief as actual law enforcement, and they in many jurisdictions will cite or arrest a cop for doing this when not on an active call
An anonymous note on the windshield just asking if he/she thinks parking in a non-parking space is legal, then asking if anyone can park there without repercussions might be a subtle way to get a message across.
884
u/Thin_Ad_6493 7h ago
Just call the department, ask for the supervisor on duty, inform them of the issue and give the car number.
Put the camera away and use the phone to actually call and complain.