Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Big Isle chief gets
By Rod Thompson
a ticket: Is it personal?
Star-BulletinHILO -- Big Island Police Chief Wayne Carvalho will contest a ticket he says incorrectly claims he parked in a handicap zone at a Kona hotel.
Carvalho said he parked in a loading zone at the Royal Kona Resort last Thursday, leaving his car there overnight at the invitation of management.
The ticket was issued at 10:30 p.m. Carvalho attended a county Police Commission meeting in Kona the following day.
"I was parked in a loading area I used before with the approval and urging of the management and staff," Carvalho said.
At least three handicap parking stalls are located next to the loading area, he said. The curbing for both the loading area and the stalls is painted blue, he said.
But only the handicap stalls have signs on posts and wheelchair logos on the pavement, he said.
"Unfortunately the officer (who gave the ticket) was mistaken," Carvalho said.
Norman Olesen, the county coordinator for the Americans with Disabilities Act, said he, too, has parked in the loading zone at the Royal Kona Resort.
The blue paint on the curb has no legal significance, he said. And the handicap stalls may not be legal, since they don't meet present or past standards of the ADA, Olesen said.
Since Carvalho lost a lawsuit last year accusing him of cheating on police promotions, a police union poll showed a portion of the department personnel want him removed from office.
Carvalho hinted the officer who ticketed him may have targeted him personally.
"I kind of doubt very much he doesn't know what my car looks like," he said.
Also, the morning after the ticket was issued, three other cars were parked in handicap stalls without handicap tags but had no tickets, he said.
Carvalho said he will write a letter of explanation to the court, as the ticket permits, and may appear in person to contest it.
