Photo: abc13.com
A 63-year-old woman from Houston, Texas, knows that handicapped parking spots are too few and rarely available, because fully-abled drivers continue to occupy them. So she works as a volunteer for the City of Houston.
In that capacity, Marilynn Coleman makes sure that cars with no handicapped placard or sticker are removed from handicapped parking spots, by informing the drivers that what they’re doing is illegal. She can also issue $500 fines for the same thing, if the driver refuses to comply.
Coleman tells ABC 13’s Eyewitness News that she’s used to hearing swear words or offensive stuff, but never before was she actually in physical danger for doing her job. That changed last week, when a woman hit her with her car, after she informed her that she was illegally parked.
Coleman is disabled herself, so she knows just how valuable parking spots for the handicapped are. When she saw a blue Ford Focus without a placard, she went over and informed the driver that the spot was reserved only for the disabled. The driver was a woman who had 2 children with her.
The driver’s initial reaction was one of disbelief, which quickly turned to anger. When Coleman informed her that she was about to receive a citation and a fine, the driver backed the car into Coleman.
“I started beating on the car and I said, ‘Ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am’,” Coleman says. “And at that point, I'd say she backed up again and she hit me harder, and then I went down.”
Coleman wasn’t hurt, but she still wants the woman in police custody. To that end, she filed a police report and the cops are looking for the driver for aggravated assault. Whatever her thoughts on parking illegally were, using your car as a weapon is definitely against the law.
In a statement to the same media outlet, Maria Irshad, assistant director for ParkHouston, says of the incident, “We are distressed to hear about this incident and have reached out to Ms. Coleman to express our concern for her safety and well-being. Ms. Coleman is one of more than 400 valued volunteers that the City of Houston has trained as part of the volunteer parking enforcement program.”
Coleman intends to continue working as a parking enforcement volunteer.
Coleman tells ABC 13’s Eyewitness News that she’s used to hearing swear words or offensive stuff, but never before was she actually in physical danger for doing her job. That changed last week, when a woman hit her with her car, after she informed her that she was illegally parked.
Coleman is disabled herself, so she knows just how valuable parking spots for the handicapped are. When she saw a blue Ford Focus without a placard, she went over and informed the driver that the spot was reserved only for the disabled. The driver was a woman who had 2 children with her.
The driver’s initial reaction was one of disbelief, which quickly turned to anger. When Coleman informed her that she was about to receive a citation and a fine, the driver backed the car into Coleman.
“I started beating on the car and I said, ‘Ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am’,” Coleman says. “And at that point, I'd say she backed up again and she hit me harder, and then I went down.”
Coleman wasn’t hurt, but she still wants the woman in police custody. To that end, she filed a police report and the cops are looking for the driver for aggravated assault. Whatever her thoughts on parking illegally were, using your car as a weapon is definitely against the law.
In a statement to the same media outlet, Maria Irshad, assistant director for ParkHouston, says of the incident, “We are distressed to hear about this incident and have reached out to Ms. Coleman to express our concern for her safety and well-being. Ms. Coleman is one of more than 400 valued volunteers that the City of Houston has trained as part of the volunteer parking enforcement program.”
Coleman intends to continue working as a parking enforcement volunteer.
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