Schelley Vance, a public safety officer with the Glasgow Police Department, stands near her cruiser in the parking lot at the department’s headquarters located along Pin Oak Lane in Glasgow.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
GLASGOW — An honest mistake by a Glasgow Police public safety officer last month turned her into the subject of a berating social media post.
Schelley Vance serves as one of the few unsworn officers within the Glasgow Police Department. She spends most days helping officers by responding to less significant calls, directing school traffic and ensuring community members follow parking rules.
The irony? Vance recently paid her own parking ticket.
The police department publishes an annual calendar, and Vance was out to deliver some to various businesses on Friday, Feb. 11. She pulled up to a local pet store, parked her cruiser and went inside to deliver the novelties.
It was moments after she went inside the store that a bystander snapped a photo of Vance’s parked cruiser near Petsense. It was parked in a handicap space.
“I had a lot of posters in my hand. Distributed them out, came back and got in the vehicle, and left,” Vance said. “Never realized I parked in a handicap.”
The bystander posted the photo to social media post, and comments berating the department followed. Some people accused the department of being “corrupt,” alleged abuse of power and later mocked the department when they issued an apology via Facebook.
But it was none of that. Vance said she never saw the handicap parking designation when she parked.
“When I looked behind me, I saw a vertical sign, and I thought, ‘Oh, is that a handicap?’” Vance said. “And I looked, and it said, ‘Pet Sense parking only.’”
Another department official showed Vance the post sometime later, and she was shocked. That was the first time she learned of the mistake. The department later issued that formal apology, and hateful comments filled that post, too.
Vance said the issue stayed on her mind the following weekend.
“What I hated about it the worst is the folks I work with had to be the brunt of a lot of that,” Vance said. “And they’re great guys. Every one of them.”
After she finished directing traffic at Barren County High School the next Monday, Vance headed to Glasgow City Hall and paid $50 from her pocket for the mistake.
“I mean I didn’t do that to draw any attention to myself and didn’t tell anybody I did that.”
Law enforcement can be a tough job sometimes, she said. But it’s also a rewarding career.
While there were hateful comments, many people made calls and posts in response to the post.
“In everything, there’s a blessing. A lot of negative comments, but there were also a lot of personal calls,” Vance said. “And I think we just have to train ourselves to look for those blessings on the daily.”
And it wasn’t only community members responding with grace and love. Department leadership said Vance is “one of the best city employees” and her “integrity speaks for itself.”
“We believe she made an honest mistake,” said Glasgow Police Major Terry Flatt. “She’s that type of person. When she tells you something, you take it to heart, and you know in your heart that it’s also the truth.”
