Posted on 10/17/2015 10:01:02 AM PDT by Altariel
Parents say police pass out citations each day despite limited parking
CUTLER BAY, Fla. - A mother was arrested Wednesday after she parked her car on the grass outside Dr. Edward L. Wingham Elementary School in Cutler Bay.
Rita Guzman, 25, was arrested on a charge of resisting an officer without violence after she refused to comply with a Miami-Dade police officer's orders, an arrest report said.
According to the report, Guzman was parked in an area that was marked "no parking or standing."
Quick Clicks
Parents voice parking issue concerns after woman's arrest Guzman said she was scared to sleep at home Thursday night.
"I can't believe it's me in that video," Guzman said. "It just wasn't necessary."
She's wearing splints on both wrists for sprains and her arms are bruised after allegedly being yanked from her car by a Miami-Dade police officer outside the elementary school while waiting to pick up her daughter Wednesday afternoon.
"I was on the phone, distracted, and the officer asked me to move. I was fine with that, but I didn't know where. Then it escalated, and he was really aggressive with me," Guzman said.
She was handcuffed and spent the night in jail.
"I slept in a cell. I was treated like a criminal," Guzman said.
A Local 10 News viewer and parent, whose child attends the school, said police have been handing out citations to parents every day, although there is limited parking availability for parents.
The woman said road work is being done in the area, and construction vehicles have been allowed to park on the school's grass.
"There is not enough parking here," another parent, Alex Montes, said. "And they put a whole bunch of no parking signs that were not here last year. Now what they do is wait for the parents every morning and every afternoon to give us tickets."
"I wish they would come up with a solution to the problem. We don't know where to park," said parent Daissy Santiago.
For Guzman, the parking problem turned into her worst nightmare.
"I just want people around her to feel safe, and I'm at a point where I don't feel safe in my own community. I don't feel safe taking my daughter to school," Guzman said. "Now, I'm just scared, and I'm terrified."
According to police, Guzman asked the officer, "Why are you being nasty?" and refused to hand him her driver's license.
Cellphone video from another parent shows Guzman being pulled out of her car by the officer.
Raw Footage: Woman arrested outside Cutler Bay elementary school The report said Guzman began to "rotate her body away" from the officer as he attempted to handcuff her.
She was then taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Guzman's ex-husband, Dante Silverio, told Local 10 News that Guzman spent the night in jail and had to go to the hospital, because she was "bruised up."
How dare she think she can park to pick up her child. Only the knights of the realm may park to ticket the serfs.
My child used to attend a school that had a similar parking problem. I told my 6 year old to walk around the corner and sit on the steps of the priest’s house to wait for me. I’d come just a few minutes late, just to wait for the traffic to clear. Today I’d be arrested for having “free range” child.
Reading the comments on the site sheds a lot of light on the story.
She must be special, since the rules don’t apply to her.
You mean like the rule that the police officer can park in the grass and she cannot? That rule?
Or are you in favor of one law for he, another for thee?
Ah-HA! I just KNEW you had an outlaw past, LOL! :)
Is the town bleeding for cash to target parents like this!
“charge of resisting an officer without violence”
Cops are a necessary evil but this resisting with or with out violence crap is out of control and will get worse as more and more people say FU to the man when he uses no “COMMON SENCE”and probably has none.
Three sides to every story: One side, the other side, and the truth....
Getting a citation can turn to heavier actions if one opts to be a "Hillary" who doesn't think statutes apply to them.
And another tragedy for the commons.
Nobody rides the bus any more. Morning rush hour has become ridiculous in front of schools. The volume is overwhelming and municipalities are now forced to provide police to direct traffic in front of schools. Trips that pass schools and should take 10 minutes now take 40 minutes
Let your kids ride the damn bus. If you live within a 1/4 mile of school, let the kids walk. God knows they could use the exercise.
If the rule applies to her, it applies to the officers. Period.
Unless you don’t believe officers should be held accountable.
Then the parents are arrested for letting the kids walk to schools. Because it’s more important for the police to make arrests than to walk a beat.
Ride the bus? Works great until some kid pulls a knife on another kid on the bus.
"According to police, Guzman asked the officer, "Why are you being nasty?" and refused to hand him her driver's license."
No argument with your comment but how does it apply in this situation? No mention that cops are parking there with impunity...
I know that many times they do get away with things the rest of us can't and that's wrong, but if being cited, it is a requirement to hand over one's license/registration, etc.
Watch the video. You’ll see it.
A comment from the article:
We are so inundated with “third world” DUMB PATHETIC SELF CENTERED PEOPLE, that the idea of following the rules, common sense or thinking of “other” people’s property is gone !
So I FULLY understand why the Police are there and SHOULD BE THERE, if this is what’s going on. Ticket them to death, till they get the message, that destroying other people’s property in NOT an option.
...
As I drive a school bus, I find there are very many ‘special’ parents who feel that ‘No Stopping Except Buses’ signs around schools do not apply to them, that they are exempted from parking rules that Kanadians offer adhere to! Of course, in the neighbourhood I drive, many of these ‘special’ parents are, in deed, ‘special’.
They are so ‘special’ that the government imports them into Kanada, to teach their ‘special’ and ‘pieceful’ religion and customs to us multi-generational Kanadians who lack the knowledge that such ‘highly esteemed’ new Kanadians bring to our unenlightened culture. And if Turd-owe gets in on Monday, we can expect an additional 100,000 from Syria. Oh, how absolutely delightful!
</sarc>. (Need I say it?)
How about mommy Guzman leaving EARLIER, finding a place to park several blocks away and WALK her Li’l Darling to school? She can then actually TALK with her child and BOND as she WALKS her Li’l Darling to school! What a concept! Exercise AND communication with her child. Maybe she’ll learn something from her overnight stay in the County Hotel. (Likely not, though.)
I'm a veteran inner-city school teacher. And I'll tell you something right now. If my kid went to my school, no way would I let him ride a bus. No way. Too dangerous. Not kidding.
“I was on the phone, distracted, and the officer asked me to move. . . ,” the woman said. Can’t help but think this is part of the problem. Hang up and live life.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.