Parking Officer Charged With Writing Bogus Tickets

Updated 8:45 a.m. Friday

A Ridgewood parking enforcement officer wrote unwarranted tickets and made up false reasons to dimiss those that were later challenged, charged Thursday.

Authorities said in a news release that a month-long investigation revealed Christopher Foxon, 29, of Garfield, issued tickets to drivers who had not been in violation of municipal codes.

Foxon, who has worked at the parking utility since at least 2008, was charged with tampering with official documents and released pending first appearance in municipal court.

Police did not say how many motorists may have received the bogus parking tickets, or how many were later dismissed. Detective Chris McDowell said because the investigation remains ongoing, he could not provide a timeline as to when Foxon allegedly began issuing bogus tickets.

He did say, however, that when dismissing the allegedly unwarranted summons, Foxon would claim the meter was broken, the vehicle was disabled or it was permitted parking spot.

"He was attempting to bring his production up," McDowell said in an e-mail when asked of possible motivations to the alleged document tampering.

Asked if parking enforcement officers had ticket quotas, Village Manager Ken Gabbert said in an e-mail they did not. He did not immediately respond to a follow up email requesting specifics about Foxon's current employment status, motivations, or amount of tickets written.

Foxon, the son of a retired Ridgewood police officer, earns just over $39,000. He received  for 2010 and 2011. He received the highest amount for parking enforcement officers.