Bratton still uses his NYPD parking card - 16 years later

The New York Post reports that former LAPD chief William Bratton was spotted last week parking his Lexus SUV in a “No Standing” zone on Third Avenue and East 40th Street in New York City. That happens to be right outside the offices of Kroll, the private security firm where Bratton is the chairman. It would be a $115 fine for anyone else, says the Post:

He left the car parked there — with a permit reading “for official use only” on the dashboard — for at least an hour....

Bratton’s placard, numbered 10122, is emblazoned with two NYPD shields and expires Feb. 1, 2013.

There’s no provision on the books for giving a former city employee a government parking placard, officials said.

The placards are supposed to be used only on “official business,” which would disqualify anyone no longer working for the city.

“City employees can only use them when they’re on the clock,” said Noah Budnick, the deputy director of Transportation Alternatives, which serves as a watchdog for parking-placard abuse.

He said a former official using a placard would be “doubly illegal.”

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told the Post that "former police commissioners are entitled to placards,” but didn't cite any actual law or policy to back it up. Bratton resigned as the police commissioner of New York in 1996 after a falling out with the mayor who appointed him, Rudy Giuliani. Bratton had no comment for the Post.