Police arrested a student for theft after Parking and Transportation Services officials said he "tailgated" other cars out of a parking garage to avoid paying.
Benjamin Cooperman's vehicle was booted April 14 because PTS officials noticed he had followed paying parkers on several occasions out of the Sixth Street Parking Garage, 1117 E. Sixth St., so he didn't have to pay, University of Arizona Police Department reports stated.
Cooperman, a psychology junior, was arrested April 19 and charged with theft because the PTS director told police he wished to press charges, reports stated.
But Cooperman said he did not recall piggy-backing anyone, even though a UAPD officer said Cooperman admitted an hour earlier to fleeing the garage without paying, reports stated.
Cooperman did not respond to e-mails sent over the weekend.
Patrick Kass, director of PTS, said this was one of the first arrests police made against a student for not paying to park, but he would not comment specifically about Cooperman's case.
Kass said although the problem has subsided this year, he still receives a few calls and e-mails each week from students who are upset that someone followed them without paying.
"They're outraged because they are paying to park in the facilities," Kass said.
Sonny Yecny, a hydrology junior and a garage permit-holder, said he has not seen anyone "tailgate" him from a parking garage, but it would be frustrating if it did happen.
"It would piss me off a little bit. I pay a lot to park here," Yecny said.
Nearly 7,900 students and faculty hold permits to the six garages on campus, and Kass said they could face higher permit costs if others continue to skip paying.
"It essentially does drive up the cost of parking for everyone," he said.
Kass said the department increased the "tailgating" fine last year from $30 to $250 because of the complaints.
Kristen Ray, a junior majoring in Spanish and psychology, said she received a mass e-mail last year warning students about the citation increase.
Ray said sometimes she forgot her Tyndall Avenue Parking Garage parking permit and would follow friends out of the garage.
"I'm not going to pay for it if I just forgot to bring it," she said, even though she said she doesn't do it anymore.
PTS takes the violation very seriously, and officials are already considering increasing the penalty for the fall semester, Kass said.
"We have a staff specifically assigned to search for these vehicles," he said, adding they stand at the exits and record cars' license plate numbers sporadically through the year.
Individuals who return to the garage and are on the "tailgating" list are cited $250 and their cars are booted, which costs $50 to remove, Kass said.
The removal of the boot and the PTS citation fee for "tailgating" equates almost as much as a year-long garage permit at $450. The most a visitor to any garage has to pay is $6 for the day.
David Altherr, a physiology freshman, said his City of Tucson parking permit on East University Boulevard and North First Avenue is too far away from his Kaibab-Huachuca Residence Hall. When he doesn't want to make the walk, Alther said he parks in the Tyndall garage.
Altherr said "tailgating" other cars to avoid paying is something he's never done, but he said he thinks PTS employees who ticket cars are incompetent.
One time, Altherr said he parked in the Tyndall garage and when he returned, he had a ticket on his car that cited him for illegally parking in the garage. Altherr said he appealed the ticket and won on the grounds that the ticket was for the wrong garage.
"I'd never been there in my life," Altherr said.