Army cars booted over unpaid tickets

DALLAS, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Officials in Dallas have booted five cars belonging to U.S. Army recruiters to get the Army to pay parking fines.

The Army owes $2,635 in fines for unpaid parking tickets -- an amount that warrants a response beyond just issuing another ticket on another vehicle, the city said in a story published Wednesday in The Dallas Morning News.

The metal boots, which immobilize vehicles, would be removed once the tickets are paid, city officials told soldiers who marched to City Hall to complain.

"I'm sorry they were inconvenienced, but everybody's got to pay their tickets. If one of our city employees gets a ticket, they pay it, too," City Manager Mary Suhm told the newspaper.

The city identified the vehicles through an electronic eye that automatically identifies the license plates of vehicles with numerous outstanding parking fines.

An Army representative said individual soldiers are responsible for any parking tickets they incur while driving Army vehicles.