Letters | Double-parking double take

ON DEC. 15, I got a ticket for double­parking in front of my home as I unloaded two bags of groceries.

There was a passenger in the car, the hazard lights were on and the whole transaction took less then five minutes. As I was coming out the door, I saw a police car parked across the street. When I drove off, they turned their lights on.

The cruiser pulled alongside my car, and I rolled down my window, puzzled as to why I was stopped. No one got out of the car, but the 12th District officer passed me a $51 ticket. I asked what it was for (it was 6:15 p.m. and I couldn't see what it said), and I was told that it was for double parking.

I said to him that I was in front of my own house for less than five minutes, and he replied, "It is not a parking space," then rolled up his window and drove off.

I wasn't blocking traffic nor was I in a no-parking zone on this two-way street. I was simply unloading groceries, and, I repeat, it took less than five minutes. In parts of South Philadelphia, cars are double-parked all day without being ticketed, but I guess that courtesy doesn't apply to residents living in Southwest Philadelphia.

The officers were rude and they sped up alongside me as if I was trying to get away. If anything, they could have warned me to move it as they watched me take the groceries out of the car, and the fact that the ticket was passed to me through the windows made me feel violated.

I've respected law-enforcement officers and, in many cases, assisted them in situations, putting my life in jeopardy, and now I feel totally disrespected.

A $33 shopping trip is now costing me $84!

Needless to say, I was left dumbfounded and upset. I feel this was an unjustifiable ticket, and I am disputing the fine.

I just hope those same officers were able to put as much effort into apprehending whoever was shooting in my neighborhood that same evening less than three hours later.

Yolanda S. Overton

Philadelphia