News

Motorist Arrested in New Canaan Is Appealing Parking Ticket That Led To Confrontation, Criminal Charge

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The 24-year-old Norwalk woman arrested in June following an altercation downtown with a parking enforcement officer—one of the incidents that has led to New Canaan purchasing body cameras for those municipal workers—is appealing the ticket she received for parking in a handicapped space. Chanel Grant said in an appeal to the New Canaan Parking Commission that she had pulled into the only available space so that a friend in the car could re-snap a child into a car seat in back. After receiving a ticket, Grant also was arrested for breach of peace, police have said. Grant said in her appeal letter that she filmed the entire incident. Her criminal case has been statutorily sealed, according to Connecticut Judicial Branch records.

Government

‘Cool, Collected and Communicative’: Karen Miller, Longtime Head of New Canaan Parking, To Retire Next Month

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New Canaan resident Karen Miller, imperturbable superintendent of the town’s highly visible Parking Bureau and advocate for expansion of facilities for commuters, is retiring at the end of next month, she said. A New Canaanite since 1983 who has worked in the bureau for 18 years, Miller said major developments during her tenure include the acquisition of the Lumberyard Lot in 1999 and the introductions of both license plate readers for parking enforcement officers and the PayByPhone app for motorists. “We have to help our commuters,” Miller told NewCanaanite.com Monday during an interview in her office at the New Canaan Police Department. “Most of the people moving to town are in need of commuter parking because they work in New York City. It would be in the best interests of the town to give them a place to be, and we have the wherewithal to do that and we have all the support we need to do that and I think it’s time to stop talking about it and do it.”

A mother of two sons—Sam is living and working in New York City and Tom, after eight years with the U.S. Marines, including two stints in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, is pursuing a pre-med/physics degree at Columbia University—Miller took up her position in the Parking Bureau here as a second career.

Government

‘It Is Sad, Really’: After Multiple Incidents with Angry Ticketed Motorists, Town To Purchase Five Body Cameras for Parking Enforcement Officers

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In what New Canaan’s highest elected official is calling a sad statement on the way some motorists treat the town’s parking enforcement officers, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved funds to purchase five body cameras that the workers soon will wear on the job. Approved 2-0 by the selectmen, the acquisition follows the arrests of a New Canaan man last month after a threatening incident at the Parking Bureau, a Norwalk woman this month who made a scene downtown after being ticketed, and a still-active case now two years old that saw a Greenwich man use racial slurs in arguing with a parking enforcement officer at Morse Court. “It is sad, really, that you have to do this,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said at the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “And these are folks trying to do their jobs.”

Mallozzi and Selectman Beth Jones voted in favor of a $3,643 contract with Kansas-based Digital Ally to purchase the devices. Selectman Nick Williams was not in attendance.

News

Breach of Peace Charge for Woman, 24, After Dispute with Parking Enforcement Officer

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Police on Saturday afternoon arrested a 24-year-old Norwalk woman following a dispute that involved the New Canaan Parking Bureau. At about 11:54 a.m. on June 18, officers were dispatched to 87 Main St.—the old bank and former site of Thali restaurant, next to Town Hall—on a report of a dispute between a parking enforcement officer and the woman, according to a police report. She’d been issued a ticket, the report said. Police investigated and charged the woman with second-degree breach of peace. She was released on $500 bond and scheduled to appear June 28 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.

Around Town

‘We Thought We Would Pay After We Were Through with Breakfast’: Parking Ticket Appeals

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What follows are excerpts from parking ticket appeals letters filed recently with the New Canaan Parking Bureau. Where available, we’ve included information on the violation for which these people were cited, in what amount, and where and when the violation occurred. ***

Not a single spot available in meter lot so I parked on the side. My boss was waiting for me and I had no other choice but to park on the side. I am happy to pay the $5 fee but felt my hands were tied yesterday.