Woman cited for taking parking boot off car sitting abandoned in La Crosse

One vehicle in La Crosse fitted with a boot on its wheel this winter soon was spray-painted “Victim of Piracy.”

An owner of another such vehicle has been cited for taking the boot off entirely.

Police were called to an abandoned vehicle on Livingston Street on Friday and found a 2015 Chrysler with three tires missing, a jack on the ground and the boot slid under the car.

According to the police report, the center dash, including the stereo, and anything else valuable were taken out of the car.

The registered owner denied knowledge, saying her sister was the one who drove it.

The sister and another man were questioned but, since there was no direct evidence, the 31-year-old owner was cited for tampering with an immobilization device.

The vehicle was unregistered and had several outstanding parking tickets.

Police were told the only way it could have been taken off is by a person deflating all of the tires, removing the lug nuts and sliding the vehicle from the boot.

La Crosse police began enforcing the parking boots on Nov. 15. Those with five or more tickets overdue by more than 60 days can get the boot or get towed.