MIAMI — The Homestead Police Department is cracking down on drivers parking illegally in disabled spaces.
Local 10 News rode along with veteran officer Eric Rodriguez, who has been proactively looking for violators during his daily patrols.
In the past 12 days, the department said officers have issued more than 100 citations.
Disabled placards are issued to people, not vehicles. Rodriguez said he has issued citations to drivers using a placard belonging to someone else or not having one at all.
“It’s very unfair to a person who actually needs it — a disabled person,” Rodriguez said.
Near the Target on Northeast 10th Court, Rodriguez spotted a silver Infiniti idling in a disabled space.
The driver said she had dropped off her mother-in-law and was waiting in the space.
“It was just a quick stop,” the driver said.
She was issued a $250 citation.
In a social media post, Homestead Police Chief Mario Knapp wrote that “transparency matters, and so does standing up for our most vulnerable neighbors.”
There’s also a countywide crackdown on how drivers obtain disabled placards in the first place.
Last month, the Miami-Dade County tax collector’s office announced it is conducting an audit of every permit application issued in the past two years.
In Homestead, officers like Rodriguez say they will continue to be proactive.
“I always knew there were people abusing it,” Rodriguez said. “But to be honest with you, in such a short amount of time, to have that many citations written really did surprise me.”
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
