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A City of Houston employee is behind bars for an alleged parking violation scheme.
Aisha Mercer was arrested Wednesday (November 16) after an investigation revealed she was encouraging parking violators to pay her instead of the city in exchange for a break from tickets or for taking off a wheel-locking boot, according to ABC 13. She would ask violators to send her money via Zelle over a six-month period. Multiple complaints were filed against the 45-year-old City of Houston employee.
Mercer resigned after an internal investigation, ParkHouston told the news outlet.
Do locals agree with what Mercer did? Some weighed in.
"Extra on the side, and that's wrong. You're in a position of power, and you shouldn't take advantage of it," resident Charles Torres told ABC 13 this week.
"Shoot, if I'm in a tough situation, I'm going to give her $100 to get it off. I don't agree with it, but if it's more convenient, that's what I'm going to do," James Glover said.
ParkHouston issued the following statement regarding the incidents:
The former ParkHouston employee arrested by the Houston Police Department for allegedly directing parking violators to pay fees to her personal account via a third-party payment app service is no longer employed by the City of Houston. The individual resigned from ParkHouston after an internal investigation was launched following allegations ParkHouston received from a customer.
ParkHouston is fully cooperating with the Houston Police Department's investigation. We have no additional information to share at this time.
Please be aware that if a wheel-locking boot is placed on your vehicle by parking enforcement, the only way to pay the fee for its removal is to call the phone number listed on the sticker placed on your window. ParkHouston officers cannot take direct payments for citations or to release a boot. If you are not sure how to resolve a situation - call 311.