Too much time on deputies’ hands

Our local Sheriff’s deputies have too much time on their hands. Park and Ride commuters are being harassed with questionable tickets on the cars left parked in the lot. Discouraging commuters from using alternate transportation hurts everybody.

Parking violations issued in our city cannot be contested at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. Vehicle owners are directed to call an answering machine at a private service in Orange County. The answering machine directs that contested citations be mailed to the service with a letter of explanation, promising a wait of six- to eight weeks for a response, and asking owners to ignore the notices of overdue fines. How professional is that?

For a $17 “citation correction” fee, Sheriff’s deputies will inspect a vehicle to determine if any violation actually exists. The inspection, however, is considered to be an admission of guilt, and the fee must be paid in cash — exact change only. Something isn’t right when deputies exact fees. If this were Mexico we would know just where this fee was going.

Harassing working people who are doing their part for our environment and then providing no reasonable recourse is a gross injustice and just plain stupid. This is a contract city, so the LCF city government is ultimately responsible for these issues. The Sheriff’s Dept. can serve the community much better than this.

James Stoker

La Cañada Flintridge