Parking a squad-car in a fire lane.....for coffee?

[ChuckBooty]

Was grabbing a coffee at Starbucks this morning and a couple of Riverside County Sheriffs Deputies were ahead of me in line. They were buying their morning coffee as well. As I watched them walk out to their vehicle I saw that they had parked directly beside the red curb marked "Fire Lane No Parking". It looked as though they were buying coffee for a few of their colleges as well so it took them a few minutes to carefully load each cup into the vehicle. A couple of people in line made sarcastic comments about it when they walked out, things like, "Typical cop" and such.

So is this permitted (if so, would you mind siting the PC or the regulation?) or were they just abusing their position (obviously nobody is going to give THEM a ticket)?

If they were just being lazy and abusing their position, how prevalent is this type of behavior? And just an observation, if you are an officer who routinely does this type of thing you should re-think it. It is pretty bad public relations (as evident by the folks reaction who witnessed this).

[Turo]

Tag.

I've wondered this as well. I'm fairly certain that the practice is okay during a call but would be interested on the protocol for coffee breaks as well.

[Ron-Solo]

As a 32 year LEO, this is one of my pet gripes. It is abuse of the situation. On a call it may be necessary for a variety of reasons, but to get coffee isn't one of them.

Most of us feel that way, but some just don't get it.

My $0.02 worth.

[yzErnie]

IBTL

[ChuckBooty]

IBTL

Shouldn't be a lock. Nobody is bashing anyone. Just asking a question.

[Purple K]

Where do they expect us Firefighters to park when we stop for coffee?

[Saigon1965]

Always makes me laugh when they pull up with the biggest engine to get some burritos -

Where do they expect us Firefighters to park when we stop for coffee?

[ChuckBooty]

Where do they expect us Firefighters to park when we stop for coffee?

Handicap spot?

[yzErnie]

Shouldn't be a lock. Nobody is bashing anyone. Just asking a question.

That is why I put a smilie with it...tongue in cheek humor.

[ChuckBooty]

That is why I put a smilie with it...tongue in cheek humor.

Gotcha....to tell you the truth I was a bit worried about that. That's why I left out my personal feelings on these two. I know they're sensitive here.

[tyrist]

If I can find a decent legal spot I will always choose it over the fire lane. However due to the radio sometimes you have to park in a spot where you can get back to your car quickly without sprinting for a block to respond to an emergency.

[Gundam]

If I can find a decent legal spot I will always choose it over the fire lane. However due to the radio sometimes you have to park in a spot where you can get back to your car quickly without sprinting for a block to respond to an emergency.

This. Just because a cop is getting code 7 doesn't mean the entire world stops turning. That's why cops get paid during their lunch breaks, because it's not guaranteed .

[bohoki]

they have a tough job that demands much sacrifice i think they deserve a little slack on parking as long as its not on a playpen full of babys i'm cool with them parking anywhere they are not directly impeding trafic

be it on the sidewalk,loading zones,handicap,fire hydrants,center turn lanes,bus stops, bus lanes,front lawns

[PositiveInfluence]

I think it would be easier for them to rush out code 3 while parked on a street than in a parking lot.

[nobody33]

I like to get lunch during the day watch at a Panera Bread in a busy shopping center. I'm there usually five minutes to get my food and then I leave and go eat in my car. I eat in my car so I can respond to an emergency faster. That's also why I park in a red zone right outside (but never block hydrants) for a few minutes even getting lunch. So that if I leave for a call I can get there quicker. Sometimes people don't want to wait five more minutes for me to walk back to a car when they are bleeding.

Here our muni code lists red zones for all city vehicles. So it's not illegal anyways. And I don't write tickets to other people for it so I'm not a hypocrite