Parking Officer Allegedly Runs Over Ticketed Man's Foot With Cart -- Lawsuit Filed

​

When Randy Mistrot got back to his car after shopping at the Alemany Flea Market on Oct.  26, 2008, he had not just one parking ticket, but two. This, Mistrot believed, was unacceptable.

So when he caught sight of an oncoming Department of Parking and Traffic cart, Mistrot flagged it down and came face to face with Officer Linus Oha -- the issuer of the second ticket. Mistrot wanted to know, why had he been double-ticketed?  

According to a civil complaint filed last month in San Francisco Superior Court, Oha responded by grabbing the tickets out of Mistrot's hand, throwing them on the dashboard of the DPT vehicle, and accelerating in Mistrot's direction. Oha then purportedly ran over Mistrot's foot, knocking him to the ground and injuring him, the complaint states. San Francisco police and the paramedics soon arrived. 

According to SFPD spokeswoman Lieutenant Lyn Tomioka, Oha does have an accident report on file from late 2008, but that was the only information she turned up and further details could not be released, she said. The Snitch is still waiting for a response from the Municipal Transportation Agency (The Department of Parking and Traffic is a subsidiary of the MTA). 

Mistrot came away from the incident with ankle and hip pain, and eventually required x-rays and hip surgery. He also claims that in addition to depression, nervousness, fright, anxiety, and worry for his health and safety, the accident may also cause permanent disability.

Update: Linus Oha is in fact a parking control officer employed by the MTA, according to spokesman Judson True. But due to the pending litigation, True said he had no additional comments at this time. There may be more information available on Monday, he said.