This may seem irritating, like just another lazy, hypocritical cop. But please consider few things:

1) Obviously cops need to eat lunch too.

2)Because officers only get a half hour for lunch, and may be interrupted if a priority call goes down on their beat, it behooves them to find parking quickly.

3)Due to the nature of the job, officers need to park their vehicles strategically, so that they can take off with little or no maneuvering ( i.e. not having to back out or wiggle out of a tight space between 2 cars.)

4) Due to the nature of the job, being less than a minute from their parked vehicle at all times is ideal in case of an emergency.

So next time you see a police officer parked "illegally", please consider how you would feel if you or a loved one had a true emergency, where every minute felt like an hour... Would you want a police officer to be able to jump into his vehicle and respond ASAP, or would you want a police officer to have to walk 2 blocks to his car before responding, because this is new haven and parking is extremely scarce?

Just something to consider:)