"Smitty" Smith - a wannabe cop who gets his thrills writing tickets!!!! but don't tell him that he is too stupid to understand it. Original Article Watchdog keeps parking lots in order John Faherty The Arizona Republic Dec. 21, 2005 12:00 AM For ethical and moral reasons too numerous to list, you should not park in a parking spot saved for people with disabilities unless you need it. If those reasons aren't good enough for you, there is "Smitty" Smith. Smith, who prefers to be called "Smitty," volunteers with the city of Phoenix's Accessibility Compliance Enforcement (ACE) program. That means that he makes sure those parking spots are being used only by people who should be in there. Smith, 59, walks and talks like the veteran he is. He served in the Army between 1964 and 1968, doing time in Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. He later worked as a site manager for a large AT&T facility in the Valley. Last January, he joined the ACE program, which means he patrols parking lots and writes tickets when he sees an infraction. The "job" has been more rewarding than he anticipated and not because he likes writing the $125 tickets. "I do not get a thrill when I write a ticket. And I'm not a wannabe cop. It's rewarding in that I'm helping people who could use a break by making sure they have access to the places where they want to go," Smith said. On a recent day in a huge parking lot in northeast Phoenix, Smith drove from cluster to cluster reserved for people with disabilities. He checked each car to make sure it had a current parking placard. Each did. Connie Mitchell of Scottsdale approached her car as Smith was looking at her placard. Was she glad to see him? "Absolutely. I see people parking in these spots all the time when they shouldn't," Mitchell said. She then spoke of one her pet peeves: people who sit in their car and idle even if they have no right to be in the spot. "They think it is perfectly fine if they are in the car. Or they'll say, 'I'll just be a minute.' " Obviously, that is not true. Detective Walter Olsen oversees the program for the Phoenix Police Department. Since the Police Department took over enforcement from the Fire Department in 2000, volunteers with the ACE program have written 4,000 to 5,000 tickets each year. "We have an obligation to make sure these spaces are available. It's the right thing to do," Olsen said. "As our population grows older, there is going to be even more of a demand for these parking spots." Being vigilant about parking is particularly important now, when parking lots fill up with holiday shoppers. One of the volunteers who started the ACE program with the Police Department is Olsen's father, David Olsen. "He loves doing it, he's a great guy," Olsen said. The elder Olsen, who turns 80 on Thursday, trained Smith. On a four-hour shift, Smith will write three to five tickets, on average. "A real good day is when you don't write any tickets," he said. "I've only had two of those." Have a story that needs to be told? Know about a person doing something incredible? Contact the reporter at (602) 444-4803 or john.faherty@arizonarepublic.com.