SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego couple says a parking ticket they received in East Village didn’t add up — and now their video of the interaction is gaining massive attention online and prompting an internal investigation with the San Diego Police Department.
The video shows a San Diego parking enforcement officer issuing a citation to the couple’s Tesla before the meter expired. While the $85 ticket was ultimately dismissed, the couple says they’re speaking out to prevent it from happening to anyone else.
Vanessa and Donald Pearce told ABC 10News they were stunned when they found the citation on their car.
“I got pretty upset right away because I thought something was not right,” Vanessa said.
She added that the officer told them they’d parked for more than two hours and that he had marked their tire earlier that morning. But the couple says that was impossible since they were at Fiesta Island with their dogs at that time and had video proof from their Tesla's cameras.
“When I put that up on our screen on the car, that’s kind of when his attitude changed,” Vanessa said.
Donald said the officer then acknowledged the situation was “strange” and offered to take back the ticket to have it dismissed through a supervisor.
When they got home, the couple said the Tesla’s footage showed even more: video of the officer marking their tire and immediately issuing the citation.
In a statement, the San Diego Police Department said it has launched an internal investigation.
“The San Diego Police Department takes allegations of this nature very seriously and has launched an internal investigation to determine what happened. It will take some time to interview everyone involved and review any evidence to determine what did or did not happen.”
The department confirmed the parking enforcement officer has been in the position for two months and said the department does not have enforcement quotas.
Vanessa said she’s hopeful this was an isolated incident, but says the response online suggests others may have had similar experiences.
“I’m hopeful that this was just one bad actor, but unfortunately, there are a lot of people in San Diego who have made similar experiences with parking enforcement,” she said.
Their citation has been dismissed, but the couple says they’re now focused on pushing for change so it doesn't happen to anyone else.
“I think if there is a way we can support this effort going forward, I would be willing to do so and help,” Vanessa said.
