Police sheriff gives himself ticket after parking in handicap spot

A Wisconsin police officer gave himself a ticket after he accidentally parked his cruiser in a handicapped parking spot at a Veteran’s Day event.

In a statement, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke asked another police officer to move his vehicle upon his arrival. When he got back, he noticed it was still there.

That’s when Clarke wrote himself a ticket, citation #755472 to be specific.

“I paid the fine of $35 ($46 CAD) and since the city parking fine exceeded that ($200) I made a personal donation to an organization that works with the disabled,” reads the statement. “That $235 total ($313 CAD) exceeds the city parking violation. I would rather the money go to a private org working with the disabled than to government. I have copies of all receipts.”

Clarke said unless it’s an emergency situation, the rules apply to him and his squad car the same as they would any other driver on the road.

He has also ordered an internal investigation into why his order was not followed.

It’s not the first time a law enforcement officer in Milwaukee found himself on the wrong side of his own ticket book.

In 2007, a local police chief also wrote himself a $235 ticket for mistakenly passing by a stopped school bus with its lights flashing, according to WISN 12.

Chief Richard Knoebel gave a similar reasoning as Clarke to WISN 12 at the time.

“When we get someone for not stopping for a flashing school bus we give them a citation. So I shouldn’t be any different so I did,” he said.

Knoebel also slapped himself with four demerit points.