Disabled woman ticketed for parking in handicap spot

A disabled woman is frustrated after she received a $100 ticket for parking in a spot designated for handicapped drivers. She says she even had the proper tag.

Anne Harper told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri she usually parks in the same handicapped space in her apartment complex garage on Pharr Road in Buckhead.

"The ticket has my license plate number written on it. So, they obviously had to look at my license plate to write that down," Harper said.

Harper uses a wheelchair and is a T9 paraplegic, "Which means that from here down, I have no feeling and no function," she told Viteri, pointing to her waist.

Nine years ago, Harper fell while doing roofing work and suffered a severed spinal cord. Most frustrating for her is that non-handicapped people often park in the few handicapped spaces at her building. Even worse, she says, is when they park in the area between the spaces.

"I have to have enough room to open my door all the way, so I can take my wheelchair apart and put it in my car with me," Harper explained.

Atlanta police spokesperson Curtis Davenport told Viteri in a statement, "After looking into the incident, we have determined the ticket was written in error. We are working with the court system to have the citation dismissed."

Harper said she would also appreciate more enforcement against people that don't realize who they're inconveniencing when parking illegally.

"Just frustrating how many people, I come here every day, that are parked here and shouldn't be and don't get any tickets for it," she said.

Atlanta police said they regularly patrol parking lots and garages, including those on private property, to prevent car break-ins and to ticket those illegally parked in fire lanes or handicapped spots.