Sep 21, 2009 11:18 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: Public Workers Caught Using Disabled Spots
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
They're public employees breaking the law while on the clock, and making life more difficult for the disabled.
So the I-Team went undercover and caught them in the act.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
"You're taking up spaces from the disabled people. People who need them at Spaulding Rehab?" I-Team's Kathy Curran asked Jonathan Depina.
Depina tried to duck into a building to hide from the I-Team's camera and avoid questions about why he parks his silver Infinity in a handicap spot. He's not disabled, but he parks in a handicap space and uses a disabled teenager's placard day after day.
The handicap parking spot is in front of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital – a hospital with many disabled patients.
And what about Depina? He's an officer at the Suffolk County Jail right across the street.
The I-Team captures Depina parking his car in a handicap spot, grabbing his Suffolk County uniform and jogging across the street for his shift at the jail.
I-TEAM SPOTS MULTIPLE ALLEGEDÂ OFFENDERS
The I-Team watched the handicap spots in front of Spaulding Rehab over the past two months and found Depina's not the only jail employee parking illegally. There are six employees of the Suffolk County Sherriff's Dept. that pull into these spaces and park for their entire shift on a regular basis.
The I-Team ran the plates and compared the cars' registered owners to payroll records from the Sherriff's Dept. Then those plates were then cross-checked with the handicapped placards at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
It turns out the drivers didn't match the placards.
Renita Dudley Herbin is caught parking in a handicap spot, grabbing a coffee and heading to work at the jail. She has a placard, but it's not hers – another case of fraud involving employees working at the Suffolk County Jail.
ANGER OVER MISUSE OF SPACES
Registrar Rachel Kaprielian is outraged. "When you think of someone with a disability placard, this is not a luxury for them. This is not a convenience for them. This is a necessity and when an abled-bodied person takes a space, that is a space that someone who needs it can't have."
Those spaces are needed for people like Rob Park and Stacy Rogers, who have cerebral palsy. Rob and Stacy head to Spaulding on a regular basis where parking is at a premium – especially if you're disabled and can't afford to pay.
"There aren't any other spaces unless you pay for it, or walk a distance," said Stacy.
"I am outraged because they're the ones who should know the law," said Rob. "They are the ones who help lock up criminals who violate the law, and yet they don't obey the law they're trying to enforce."
"I think what those people should think about are the people who really struggle with the challenges they have as disabled people and who are trying really hard to participate in society and imagine what it would be like to trade places with them for just one day," said Kapreilian.
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?
The I-Team alerted the Suffolk County Sherriff's Dept. about the investigation. The sheriff refused to do an on-camera interview, but her spokesperson issued a statement saying the department does not condone misuse of parking reserved for handicapped persons and went on the say the Sherriff's Dept. isn't responsible for where employees park their personal cars, but the RMV will take action.
Disability placard abuse is a criminal offense. It also carries a $500 fine and your license can be suspended.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments