Cops hit with parking ticket at Aussie ski resort: 'Pretty ironic'
A police officer has been accused of using their status to avoid paying for parking at Perisher Ski Resort. Authorities told Yahoo they are contesting the fne.
A skier has revelled in the "sweet irony" of catching sight of an unmarked police car issued with a parking fine, seemingly suggesting the officer hoped they could get away with breaking the rules at the popular ski resort.
Newcastle man Mick Parker has spent many snow seasons on the slopes of Perisher in NSW but at the start of the month, he spotted something he hadn't seen before — a parking fine on the windscreen of a car with a NSW Police cap sitting on the dash.
It is his belief the officer behind the wheel didn't pay for parking and hoped the headwear would be a not-so-subtle nod towards any parking rangers that happened to wander by.
"I was out in the car for like an hour, and no one came back to it. So I think he's gone skiing for the day and put his hat up there as if to say, 'Don't fine me'," Parker claimed to Yahoo News.
He said the car was parked in a regular parking bay and believes the vehicle was an unmarked police car as it had lights and subtle markings on it.
"There's no way you couldn't have stood there and wrote the fine out and not known that it was a police car," he said, explaining he's previously been fined $100 in the same car park.
Skier calls out police for 'beyond harsh' expectations
The regular skier explained tensions are often high between authorities and those using the slopes as police are "beyond harsh" when it comes to vehicle expectations in the area.
"The police are absolutely ridiculous down there... they'll sit and pull every four-wheel drive over and defect them for wheels," he said, calling the incident involving the police car and the parking fine "very funny".
NSW Police applying for exemption of parking fine
NSW Police confirmed to Yahoo News the car in question was indeed a police vehicle, however said it was there for an "operational reason" rather than leisure as Parker suggested. Authorities are now applying for an exemption to the parking fine.
"NSW Police Force understands the unmarked police vehicle was parked at a resort on Kosciuszko Road, Perisher Valley, on Thursday 1 August," a spokesperson said. "The vehicle was there for an operational reason and police are liaising with the relevant area for an exemption."
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