Update 9/19/12 1:30pm
NBCLA reports the following update from LADOT:
The Department of Transportation disputes Friedman’s claims based on electronic data from the parking meter.
"At approximately 2:59, one hour was purchased by credit card at a meter in Hollywood and expired one hour later," said Bruce Gillman, LA DOT spokesman. "A couple of minutes after expiration, our officer issued a citation and placed it on the windshield of the vehicle. A minute after that, 10 cents was deposited in the meter and six minutes were recorded on the meter itself."
Friedman denies that he put any change into the meter after the traffic officer began writing his ticket.
Original Story:
It's possible this is somehow faked, or that there was a misunderstanding, but from the video evidence and what the dude writes below it seems he got the shaft. From YouTube: I was going to lunch with my girlfriend. The parking meters are limited to ONE hour , and she paid the dollar fee with her credit card. There is evidence of this payment on her account, though it wasn't posted until hours later.
As we were coming back from eating, we caught this officer lurking around my car. I didn't start filming immediately, because it was possible that we may have somehow gone over the hour limit. Upon reaching the car, we realized there was still six minutes left on the meter, and I started arguing with the officer. All he said in reply was "too late." At that point, I started filming in attempt to save my ass.
No coins were dropped in the meter before filming. These particular meters only accept dollar coins and quarters -- had I put a quarter in, it would have read twenty-five minutes, not five. Had I actually had an expired meter, I would have accepted it and paid the ticket. I'm not trying to fool anybody or get out of paying a parking ticket; I'm exposing a corrupt system for what it is. I didn't break any laws, and I find the officer's act ridiculous.
