Friday, May 28, 2010

TV news reporter gets parking tickets live on air

No one likes to get a parking ticket — especially on live TV. Just ask KTLA News' Gayle Anderson, who during a live taping on Tuesday with Kelley Blue Book representatives about the best cars to drive this summer received several parking tickets for allegedly failing to pay for spots in a beach lot just north of the Santa Monica Pier.

Anderson continued with her interview as a parking enforcement officer walked in the background, placing tickets on at least four cars, including a Porsche. Anderson confronted the officer, saying she had already paid for parking. The officer disagreed and continued to issue citations while two female anchors in the studio made light of the situation.



The Santa Monica Police Department defended the citations, saying Anderson and her crew did not pay in advance for parking and only paid after the citations were issued. Police said an employee with Central Parking, which monitors the 1550 Beach Lot, called the officers around 7:40 a.m. after his supervisor allegedly approached the news crew and advised them that they needed to pay for parking.

The news crew promised to pay for the spaces before 9 a.m., police said. When the attendant approached the news crew at 8:50 a.m. to pay, they allegedly ignored him. A traffic officer approached the news crew and asked for proof of purchase. A member of the crew said they had a receipt but did not produce one. Instead the representative walked away and did not come back, police said. At 9:20 a.m. the officer issued four citations for failure to pay.

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