Moron-who-should-know-better-of-the-day: Gerald Hamelburg, who in addition to being an idiot sounds like an entitled jackass. Hamelburg got cited for using his dead mother's handicapped placard to take advantage of more convenient parking in Boston.

According to an investigator's report, Hamelburg seemed unclear about what he had done wrong.

"He denied that he was 'displaying' the placard," wrote the investigator, who videotaped this week's exchange, "and stated that it was merely 'hanging there.' He questioned why he was being sanctioned for the use this time, saying that he had used it 'half a dozen times' before that and 'no one' had ever had an issue with his use of the placard before. [The trooper] asked him why he believed that was an appropriate defense to his having committed a serious violation by using the placard illegally. Hamelburg had no response to his question."

This is why you shut the hell up when the cops approach you: because one a natural human tendency under the stress of accusation is to cycle through various excuses, not really thinking any of them through, until you hit on one you like. Meanwhile you've just eviscerated any potential defense. Gerald probably knows that "but no one ever complained before" is not a legal defense. But even as a lawyer, when confronted with a cop, he can't think straight.

As I've said before, JUST. SHUT. UP.

And Gerald Hamelburg, if you're going to use your dead mother's handicapped placard to make it easier to park your luxury car, at least have the common decency to have someone break your knees first. You're in Boston. They've got outcall that does that.

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