Parking officers fall victim to assaults

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Three parking enforcement officers have been the

victims of assaults in the Downtown area within the last two weeks.

Their attackers: the owners of impounded cars and people irate over

parking tickets they’ve been issued.

“Having three of them happen over a week and a half period is enough

of an increase to cause concern,” said Sgt. Janet Perez, a spokeswoman

for Huntington Beach Police Department. “We hope [the attacks] are an

anomaly.”

On three occasions, parking control officers have been spat on and

pushed by angry people while performing their duties.

People “get very angry from receiving tickets and having their cars

towed,” Perez said.

The 12 full-time and part-time parking enforcement workers are not

sworn police officers, but they are employed by the city’s Police

Department. Their duties include writing all types of parking tickets and

impounding vehicles when necessary.

During the first incident, which occurred July 3 at 8th Street and

Acacia Avenue, a parking officer was spat on by an angry car owner while

issuing a ticket for an illegally parked vehicle, police said. The

suspect, described as a 35-year-old blond man, fled the scene.

That same day, another incident occurred at 19th Street and Palm

Avenue. Police said a car owner who was cited for illegal parking pushed

an enforcement officer. Police identified the man as Andrew D. Arnold, a

41-year-old city resident.

On July 12, at 17th Street and Orange Avenue, a parking enforcement

officer was pushed while impounding an illegally parked vehicle, police

said. The suspect in that assault was identified as Darrell Whitehead, a

47-year-old city resident.

Both men were arrested. If convicted, they may be hit with a fine of

up to $2,000 or spend up to six months in county jail or a combination of

both.

“I think it is unfortunate that people have to resort to physical or

verbal abuse [aimed at] people who are out there carrying out their

jobs,” said Rich Barnard, a city spokesman. “To attack any employee out

doing their job is totally unacceptable. If these individuals have

concerns, there are much better ways of expressing themselves.”Barnard

said people should channel their frustrations by writing letters or

calling the Police Department.

Perez said such attacks have occurred in the past, and parking

enforcement officers carry pepper spray for self-defense. The normal

course of action when encountering a hostile situation, Perez said, is to

request assistance from police officers.

The department’s traffic division is working on a plan to curb the

assaults, officials said.