Woman fined for posting photo of police car illegally parked in handicap spot

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A woman in Petrer, Spain posted a photo on Facebook of a police car illegally parked in a handicap spot. She was subsequently fined almost €800 (~US$886) under the Citizens Security Law, aka the "gagging law," that prohibits "the unauthorised use of images of police officers that might jeopardise their or their family's safety or that of protected facilities or police operations."

From The Guardian:


Fernando Portillo, a spokesman for the local police, said the officers had parked in the disabled bay because they had been called to deal with an incident of vandalism in a nearby park. A rapid response is essential if they are to catch the offenders "in flagranti", he told local media, adding that in an emergency the police park where they can.


Asked how the photo had put the police at risk, he said the officers felt the woman had impugned their honour by posting the picture and referred the incident to the town hall authorities. "We would have preferred a different solution but they have the legal right to impose the fine," Portillo said.