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There are 5,800 metered parking spaces in the city of Houston, and they are known to fill up fast.

Some of those spaces reserved for the physically impaired are often being used by the physically fit. 

But Tuesday, police were out to make sure they didn’t happen.

“I don’t need this stuff,” K.C. Truong said.

Truong, was caught in an undercover sting, along with other suspected violators.  Plain-clothed officers fanned out in a parking lot near the Mickey Leland Federal Building on Pierce. 

Police say Truong was using a handicapped placard to park for free.

But now the violation could cost him up to $500.

“Who’s the tag belong to? My mother, 81 years old,” Truong said.

It was a familiar excuse everywhere the police went.  They nabbed another suspected violator on Austin Street near St. Joseph’s Hospital who said the placard belonged to her daughter who drives her car sometimes.

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Drivers with no physical limitations are using handicapped parking placards like this to park for free.

“They’re trying to save a few dollars by not having to pay for parking,” HPD Sgt. Mike Lundholm said.

And it’s not just pocket change they’re saving.  Officials say violators are costing the city close to $2 million a year, not to mention the hardship they cause for the people who really are disabled.

In fact, most of the drivers confronted by police checked out – the numbers on their placards matching their drivers licenses. 

But police had a warning for those who choose to ignore the law.

“We’re gonna be out here, looking and watching,” Lundholm said.