A Knott County Police Department vehicle is spotted in another state parked in a handicapped spot.

Someone snapped a picture of the county-owned Tahoe that is now posted on Facebook.

It's causing some controversy, but Knott County officials are not making any excuses.

"We're not condoning what he done. He was wrong, he did not have authorization to drive the vehicle, and he knows he done wrong. And it was just a poor decision," said Greg Mullins, Director of Knott County Homeland Security.

He says it was a family emergency that caused Officer Nelson Reynolds to make the decision to drive a county vehicle to Kingsport, Tennessee.

He also says Officer Reynolds had a handicapped person in the car with him.

Mullins says county vehicles can not be taken across county lines without supervisor authorization, but Officer Reynolds did not do that.

"I think it's a waste. A lot of the other things they have complained about, they complained about the cost of a wet dry election, and yet they are still wasting money on other stuff," said Knott County resident Ezalee Pigman.

Mullins says Officer Reynolds did turn in a personal gas receipt from the trip, but he will still be required to pay the county back for the mileage and he will also be suspended three days without pay.