Handicapped man notices car parked in handicapped spot w/no tag. Lets air out of tires. Good or Bad?

Question

Recently walking into a local sports bar, I noted a challenged man with a cane inspecting a car parked in handicap w/o a tag. He began shouting "this ba$tard has no tag. A real handicap needs this spot!". I suggested he spit on the car to teach the rude person a lesson. However, the handicapped man stated he did not want to vandalize the car.

1 hour later I walked outside again and heard a hissing sound. I turn over and the handicapped man's cane is on the ground & he is letting the air out of the tires with a pen. He had no concern about people walking in or out seeing him. Furthermore, he did not stop at just one tire, he went on to deflate 3 of them. On the 3rd one, the pen snapped the stem of the tire causing the tire to deflate immediately.

Personally I agree with what he did (so did about 15 others giving him accolades) and told him that he was delivering 'citizens justice'.

My question - is this man within his handicapped rights to commit such an action?

Answer 1

I dont think so. Of course the man had a right to the handicapped spot, but there are fines in place to deliver justice for the people who park there without a tag. That man should have called the police or store security or a tow truck or have spoken to the manager of the building, but he had no right to vandalize the vehicle himself. There are things the store manager, security or police could have done, mainly towing the vehicle, or setting a fine, or giving the handicap man a discount or special parking space other than that handicap spot. Though the people did not have a right to park there, at all, they do not deserve to have their tires deflated because its going to cost them a ton of money to get it towed elsewhere and fixed. I think he overreacted and should have sought help.

Answer 2

BAD. First, how does he know for certain that the person was not handicapped as well, and the tag just fell off the mirror? In my state they give you a little hanging tag you put from your rear view mirror after you park. It could easily drop off if not put on right.
There could be a hundred reasons, it could have been a rental car that a handicapped person had got while theirs was being worked on-and their handicapped tag was in their own car. Or maybe a handicapped person had road to the place with a non-handicapped driver. Thus they parked in the spot. I could go on and on.
And frankly, if i caught anyone touching my car-even some handicapped person, they better be on the phone calling 911 themselves cause im gonna kick their ***.

One other thing, the handicapped claim they are no different and dont want to be treated different-so why do they want special parking spaces?

Answer 3

Being handicapped myself,I can understand his frustration. But,that does not give him the right to vandalize someone's car.
If the person that was parked there was not disabled,then it was a very inconsiderate thing to do. Just as it is inconsiderate for people to think that the handicapped spots are a great place to dump their empty shopping carts instead of taking them back to where they belong.
I know I have gone into a store and forgotten to put my handicapped placard up on my mirror.Luckily I didn't get a ticket or encounter someone who thought they could take the law into their own hands. And yes,they do get stolen out of people's cars quite frequently in my area. It could have been an innocent mistake on the person's part that parked there.
He should have called the police and let them deal with it.

Answer 4

Not unless he was in the "handicapped police". Assuming that he was right. The person wasn't allowed to park where he did. Does that give that person the right to vandalize someone Else's property? I don't think so. If that were the case, "citizen justice" or vigilante's would be everywhere, dealing out justice.
But, what if the person who owned the car was a doctor or nurse, saving someone life inside a nearby establishment? Would the handicapped person have been prosecuted?
Or even worse....what if another handicapped person was parked there, and someone stole his/her tag. Would you think that the owner who is handicapped would be happy to return to a car that had all tires flat? I don't think so.

Answer 5

whether the car was parked illegally or not-that did not give the man the right to interfere with another persons property-whichever way you look at it it's vandalism. a simple note on the windscreen requesting the owner park elsewhere in future would have sufficed. if the cars owner had to incur costs getting the car removed etc the handicapped man would be liable for them. having said this i never park in a space reserved for the handicapped they are there for a reason. apart from which-as other posters have rightly observed-how did he know that the cars owner wasn't handicapped as well and the tag fell inside the car (i have had this happen with parking meter tickets before).

Answer 6

It was definetly wrong. Did he know the situation? Maybe the person lost their tag. Maybe they are suffering a temporary debilitating injury. Could have a broken foot or toe? They don't hand out handicap tags unless it is more long term. Not to say that someone could of used the help of a closer parking spot. Its sad that people today are so quick to judge & automatic reaction is anger. I would consider letting the air out of the tires vandelism.

Answer 7

Sure, maybe the next time he discoverers someone parking illegally, he can beat the driver to a bloody pulp. Maybe the challanged man with a cane could gather his friends, form a posse, get a rope and lynch the the rude person. We could just do away with our criminal justice system & police department saving loads of tax dollars. We could turn all our court houses in to daycares and police stations in to gun & ammo stores.

Answer 8

Two wrongs don't make a right. He had no legal right to vandalize that persons car. He should have called the police and left law enforcement up to them. A hefty fine would have hurt the illegal parker more than a flat tire anyway

Answer 9

He was wrong. Since he didn't know for sure if the offender was truly handicapped and just missing a tag, he was wrong to punish the person until he knew the facts.

Answer 10

I kinda agree with what he did, but in a way I don't. The person shouldn't have parked there if they weren't handicapped, but he also shouldn't have did that to there car. He could have had it towed or something.