Milwaukee DPW voids parking citations, 'error' caught on camera

Vice President Kamala Harris made a campaign stop at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Oct. 17. Early that morning, neighbors on nearby Kenwood Boulevard said their cars were ticketed and towed away with little notice.

One landlord whose tenant received a ticket called it "completely wrong."

Aaron Wilson owns a property on Kenwood Boulevard. He shared video from his home surveillance cameras with Contact 6 that captured the following unfold over the course of less than 25 minutes:

6:59 a.m. – Milwaukee Parking Services placed a temporary tow away zone sign on the block

7:09 a.m. – Parking enforcement arrived and started issuing citations

7:21 a.m. – A tow truck drove onto the block

7:23 a.m. – Truck drove away with a vehicle in tow.

"There's just not adequate time," said Wilson.

Contact 6 spoke with the owner of the car being towed on Wilsons's surveillance video. She's a UW-Milwaukee student and got a $150 citation. Her car wasn't taken to a tow lot but was relocated to a street spot near Capitol and Holton, where she tracked it down.

"It seems like it was a scramble," said Wilson. "Someone made the decision to just ticket the residents, get them out of the way, and figure it out later."

Contact 6 spoke with other neighbors who got parking citations that morning. One man said he tried to fight his ticket, and it was reduced to $60. All said there was no heads-up from the city about the coming parking restrictions.

"I feel like it should be 24 hours-notice," said Wilson.

Contact 6 emailed the city of Milwaukee Department of Public Works about the citation. A spokesperson promptly responded that the department would look into the issue. The city soon determined that car owners didn't get proper notice before citations were issued.

"Those vehicles should have received a warning and been relocated if necessary, but should not have incurred any fines," Tiffany Shepherd, DPW communications officer, said in a statement. "Penalties should have only applied to vehicles who parked after the signage was placed."

Shepherd said all seven cars parked on the 1800 block of East Kenwood Boulevard had their citations voided or refunded. The city also voided citations for another 30 vehicles parked on the 3200 block of North Downer Avenue.

Shepherd also said all cars parked on those two blocks had their tickets voided, including any drivers who may have parked after the signage was placed.

None of the cars' owners had to pay towing lot fees because their cars were relocated to another street and not taken to a tow lot. Their fine for the parking violation was $150.

Full statement from Tiffany Shepherd, Marketing & Communications Offier for DPW: