Monica Yant Kinney: In Philadelphia, 'Parking Wars' not just a TV show

If we've learned anything from the outcry over Vince Fumo's vacation-like prison sentence, it's that regular people loathe entitlement even more than transgression.

Breaking the law is bad. Getting away with it because you're rich, connected, or otherwise extra-special? That drives folks batty.

I stumbled into a pile of populist bile this month after writing about Philadelphia police officers parking their personal cars illegally.

With all due respect to the fury over Fumo, nothing gets Philadelphians riled up like parking.

Who hasn't debated this town's quirky traditions, like leaving a Lexus in the middle of South Broad or free double parking for the whole family on a tiny side street? Who doesn't have at least one tale of a losing, bruising battle with the Parking Authority?

Lately, the enemy has been flaunting its omnipotence on reality TV.

The show, Parking Wars, is a hoot. I haven't seen every episode, but as far as I know, the series has never featured a cop getting a ticket.

Most Parking Authority workers know better. Back in 1992, a Parking Authority enforcement officer was roughed up and falsely arrested after ticketing two police officers' private cars. The PPA employee sued in federal court and won $4,000 in damages.

To be fair, police aren't the only public servants ignoring rules the rest of us suffer under. Eagle-eyed readers e-mailed photos of firefighters' SUVs on the median at the Fire Administration Building at Third and Spring Garden Streets.

Amateur sleuths found a fleet of motorcycles at 13th and Arch Streets. Nearby, SEPTA cars hog a "Ride the Ducks Only" zone.

Crimes against humanity, they're not. But for drivers who pay big bucks to park in garages or get ticketed seconds after a meter expires, the special treatment burns.

"The proliferation of illegal parking, by police, along Seventh Street makes entering and especially exiting our garage difficult and dangerous," noted Roger Moog, who works for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission at Sixth and Race Streets. "This is a very poor example to set for the public and also a potential hazard."

Police were just as outraged - at me for picking on their perks.

When you swing at a hornets' nest, prepare to be stung. Some hotheads on domelights.com even posted my home address, threatening to drop by.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," one critic wrote. "Not only should cops be able to park where they want, they should all get their cars for free."

Retired Police Sgt. Greg Farrell was far more civil, kindly sharing the history of the parking controversy. Many of the Police Headquarters employees in question are civilian 911 dispatchers, he noted, working odd hours and late shifts when public transit and parking spaces are scarce.

"I remember leaving several hours early every day to find a spot," Farrell recalled via e-mail. "If you are working 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., the lots are generally full, especially if there is a convention in town."

Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has asked for more street spaces to be designated "police only," one of several options to be discussed at a meeting convened later this month by Deputy Mayor Rina Cutler.

In the meantime, the Parking Authority is at least threatening to enforce the area, though my questions about the specifics went unanswered. And Police Capt. Robert McCarron posted a note at Police Headquarters stating the obvious: "Parking on sidewalks, in crosswalks and at fire hydrants . . . is prohibited."

As a result, law enforcement offenders are crowding into a cobblestone compromise under the Vine Street Expressway. So now even more cars are hopping the curb in busy traffic to park on the sidewalk and grass.

For that, you have me to blame.