Boston Parking Officer Accused Of Making Racial Comment

BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Transportation Department is investigating after a confrontation between a woman and parking officer.

Webly Alfred says she was parked in a loading zone on Newbury Street, Saturday, when she saw a female parking officer giving someone behind her a ticket. Alfred claims she told the officer that she was going to move, but then, the officer made a comment that smacked of discrimination.

"She says, 'Well I'm writing you a ticket because monkey see and monkey do,'" Alfred said.

Alfred, who is black, said she asked the white officer if she looked like a monkey.

"And at that point she got upset. She said, 'Well that's not what I said.' She said, 'so what? In the country where you're from you don't know what an expression is?' And I said, 'Well, there you go again,'" Alfred continued.

After the incident, Alfred posted a video on Facebook live describing the incident. Then, she made a formal complaint to the Boston Transportation Department. She says since her video she has spoken with the Commissioner of the Transportation Department.

The Mayor's office released a statement on Tuesday saying:

"The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services contacted the constituent over the weekend as soon as the City was made aware of the situation. The Commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department also spoke with her this morning. An internal review is ongoing and the City will take the appropriate action once it is concluded. The alleged behavior will not be tolerated to any degree in any department and the Boston Transportation Department spoke with all shifts today to make that clear."