Free Republic

Ali Salous, the owner of the Circle A convenience store, told us Drejka has caused problems at his store before. "This guy -- he did this before," Salous said. "He always hangs out in the parking lot and if he sees someone parking, he just wants to start trouble with people." Gualtieri, however, maintained that Drejka's history didn't matter when it comes to making an arrest. All that matters, according to the sheriff, are the facts of this brief confrontation caught on tape. "He might well be a thorn in people's side. He might be a jerk," Gualtieri explained. "He...

Non-handicap drivers are gobbling up parking spaces all over California. State lawmakers say the rampant abuse of the disability parking placard system starts at the Department of Motor Vehicles. A few hours ago, elected leaders announced a bi-partisan audit of the DMV in hopes of getting to the root of the problem. We uncovered cheating of the system in the Bay Area. D.A. Issues Warning To San Franciscans Who Abuse Disabled Parking Placards There is an incredible amount of fraud and it’s been going on for years. There has to be. Does 1 in 8 California drivers have a disability?...

A Florida man banned from Starbucks for life because he called out customers who were breaking the law says he'd do it again to raise awareness for people with disabilities. Rob Rowen says he received a letter from the manager at a Tampa location after he was accused of publicly shaming people for illegally using the handicapped parking spaces and confronting them inside the coffee shop with cell phone images he took of the violations. Rowen’s son-in-law has muscular dystrophy and uses a power wheelchair, he said. “I saw someone park and it was obvious they weren’t handicapped,” Rowen told...

OPINION, August 20 /Christian Newswire/ -- "Do you know the fine for using someone else's handicapped parking permit is $300?" "That parking spot is saved for the disabled! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Nearly everyone with an invisible illness has been told, "You don't look disabled to me!" One of my friends replied, "Well, you don't look stupid to me." I just bite my lip to try to prevent the tears from forming, broken-hearted that I appear to be deceptive, when I would do anything to give back this parking perk that I use on a rare occasion. As...

More than 90 people were ticketed and fined for trying to use someone else's disability placard to get a closer parking space at the NASCAR Tropicana 400 over the weekend, officials said. Thirty-nine drivers were ticketed Sunday at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, adding to the 52 drivers cited Saturday, state officials said. Each citation carries a possible $100 fine and a mandatory court appearance, they said. "There were plenty of opportunities to turn away," Secretary of State Police Sgt. Theresa Kazimour said of those ticketed. The secretary of state's office started the crackdown after receiving complaints that able-bodied drivers...