DISABLED MAN TOUCHED BY OFFICER'S EFFORT, NOTE

Charlotte Observer, The (NC)
1995-02-24
Section: METRO
Edition: FOUR
Page: 5C

DISABLED MAN TOUCHED BY OFFICER'S EFFORT, NOTE

   DEBORAH PARKHILL MULLIS, Staff Writer

Spying a slip of paper under his car's windshield wiper, 77-year-old Howard Schuviss was sure he'd received one of those whopping tickets for parking in a spot reserved for the disabled.

The thing is, Schuviss, who has arthritis in his spine and walks with a cane, has a valid handicapped placard. He just forgot to hang it on his rearview mirror. ``Normally, I hang it,'' said Schuviss, explaining that he'd been distracted by a shopping cart in the Super K mart parking lot Monday evening. ``Shopping carts are handier than canes,'' he said.

The next day, Schuviss realized the ticket wasn't really a ticket, but a nice note from a police officer:

``To Whom It May Concern: Your failure to display a handicapped placard nearly cost you a $100 fine. Had I not seen the cane in the rear of your car, I would have issued you a ticket. Your placard must be displayed! Officer T.S. Witmer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Baker Three.''

Witmer spotted the cane after shining a flashlight through the car's tinted rear windows. ``I was looking for a placard and just happened to see the cane on the floorboard. I thought a note would get across the point to someone who was handicapped,'' Witmer said.

It was dark when Schuviss and his wife left the store Monday evening so it wasn't until the next morning that he noticed the paper tucked under the windshield wiper.

Schuviss was touched that the officer took the time to look inside his car. It's not easy to see in the back seat of a coupe, he said.``I was real pleased to see an officer who had been so thorough, so polite and yet so firm. I was impressed - it would have been easier to give me a ticket.''