The parking thing

This whole Buffalo parking ticket drama doesn’t really affect me, but here’s my take. I never expect free parking downtown. To be honest, I don’t go downtown that often, but when I do I expect that I’m going to have to pay. Parking is cheap in Buffalo. It’s no big deal. Sometimes I get lucky and find a free spot. That’s just a bonus. I also don’t ever intentionally park in an illegal spot. That’s just asking for a ticket. I really don’t understand people that do it regularly and then complain when they get caught.

That being said, what I do have a problem with is the motivation for the increased enforcement. If the cops have a problem with the control board – ticket the damn control board and all the politicians who are “responsible” for their contract problems. I’ve actually read comments from a cop saying, “If you don’t like the ticketing, call the control board!” Huh? If you’re looking for increased support from the community, leveraging your authority as a police officer over the public isn’t going to get it. A lot of people already think cops are just your run-of-the-mill high school bully who turned that “skill” into a career.

And what the hell was up with Phil Rumore’s comments on WBEN this morning? “What kind of example are we setting for our children by blaming the police officers for enforcing the law?” He was so over the top dramatic, I actually thought he was being sarcastic at first. Funny, he didn’t seem to have a problem authorizing an illegal strike back in 2000. Of teachers. Who teach children. Oh, but since he spent 10 days in jail, I guess that was an ok example. Fight the power!