Halifax police officer could face fines for parking in accessible spot

Halifax Regional Police are looking for one of their own after an officer parked a cruiser in an accessible parking spot.

A Twitter user spotted the car and shared the photo Saturday afternoon.

Staff Sgt. Mark Hobeck said the photo shows the car number. But without knowing for certain the time and day the shotwas taken, police can't establish who was driving it.

Hobeck asked the person who took the photo to send that information along. CBC reached out to the tweeter to ask the same questions, but has not yet heard back.

Hobeck said when policelearn that information, they'll talk to the officer and find out why she or he chose to park in the spot.

He said police can stop where they need to when responding to an emergency. "But for general duties, the vehicles are to be parked appropriately and legally in non-accessible spots," he said.

Officer could face more than a ticket

He doesn't know of any officers who would be legitimately entitled to park in an accessiblespot.

Hobeck said if people do seepolice cars parked illegally and apparently not during an emergency, they should let police know where and when they saw it.

"We would look at it from a professional standards side of it and conduct an investigation," he said.

That could lead to a ticket. But if the officer was found to have breached the Police Act, they would face more serious consequences.

"It depends on the circumstances. It could be anything from discreditableconduct to abuse of authority," he said. "Penalties under the Police Act can range from written reprimand to in the most severe cases dismissal."