Florida. And it is correct. Or more likely I had a lazy cop lie to me.
I literally had some guy in a BMW cut me off and park diagonally in a handicapped space. At a Dunkin Donuts. I told him to move or I'd call the cops. I ended up calling the cops.
The officer got there after the guy left, but I had taken video evidence. And the cop told me they couldn't do anything to ticket or go after the duchebag. Only if the owner had put in the call or complaint would they be able to go after the guy.
I don't know where you live but anywhere in the 50 states of the US this is incorrect. The Americans With Disabilities Act sets the parameters of disability parking but doesn't set any enforcement or penalties. The enforcement of handicap parking is left to the states to enforce and all 50 states have statutes laying out the parameters and costs for violations. Police absolutely have not only the right but the duty to enforce handicap parking laws in any area that is publicly accessible. This means you could have a handicap parking space in a single family driveway but it would not be enforced because it's private, not public. If that same space were in a single family home with an office or a home business like a CPA or a hairdresser it would be enforceable.
Hugs,
Freta
Years ago, my dad looked pretty good. Maybe a tad overweight, but nothing obvious. Yet he only had about 5% of his lung left. So walking 30 feet, he had to stop and sit, or hold onto my mom's arm. As you say, it's not always obvious. But he had the plate so parking wasn't an issue. But some folks wondered about him using the 'electric' shopping cart.