City Fires Parking Agent Who Lacked Authorization

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver parking managers have fired one of two "vehicle control agents" who they put on the streets to write parking tickets, even though he was never given the special police authorization required to write citations.

According to records obtained by CBS4 under an open records act request, the Department of Public Works notified parking Agent Paul Lucero March 3 that he was being fired effective March 5.

"This is official notification that you have failed to pass employment probation for your position as Parking Meter Collector,' reads the letter, signed by the director of the Right Of Way Enforcement Division.

The city provides no reason why it axed Lucero, noting that since he was a probationary worker he could be terminated at any time with no right to appeal.

A CBS4 investigation in February revealed that Lucero wrote 694 parking tickets after he was hired in 2010, even though the city never gave him the certification it requires to write tickets. (Full Story) Numerous lawyers argued that tickets Lucero wrote were not valid and should be voided since he had no legal authorization.

The city rejected those arguments saying all tickets Lucero wrote would stand and there would be no refunds.