LA PLATA, Md. -- A Charles County judge acknowledged deflating a tire of a car parked in a restricted area near the courthouse, but he isn't apologizing.
Circuit Court Judge Robert C. Nalley told WUSA that he let out the air because leaving notes for illegal parkers is not effective.
The chief administrative judge for Maryland's 7th Circuit, which includes Charles County, said Nalley acknowledged his actions to him. Judge William D. Missouri suggested to The Washington Post that Nalley might be sanctioned for the action he took Monday.
La Plata police are investigating the incident.
The owner of the car, Jean Washington, a cleaning worker at the courthouse in La Plata, had just arrived to start her shift Monday afternoon when a sheriff's deputy warned her that Nalley was going to let the air out of her tire if she didn't move her car, The Washington Post reported. When she went to move the car, it was too late.
Two jail officers said they saw Nalley do it, and one of the officers used a cell phone camera to capture the incident.
"When I actually saw that my tire was flat, I was almost in tears, and not because of the fact that the air was out of my tire," Washington told News4's Tracee Wilkins. "It was because of who did it."
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
A sign near the parking spot reads "Restricted Parking Only," Washington said, but she had never been told not to park there. Washington's parking routine was disrupted by construction. The space where her tire was deflated is a short walk to the courthouse, and Washington said she likes to park there because she leaves work after dark.
