PORTLAND, Ore. – City officials are exploring the possibility of setting aside parking spots for police cars after a Portland officer got a ticket for parking illegally while on duty.

A judge last week decided Officer Chad Stensgaard should get a ticket for leaving his patrol car in a no parking zone to get some take-out from a northwest Portland restaurant.

Now Portland may add specially marked spaces for police cars – modeled after a policy in San Francisco – so that officers never have to stop in a no parking zone.

"Ninety-percent of Portland, this is not a problem for us," said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, a Portland police spokesman. "But in northwest Portland, in particular, where officers are required to go and required to patrol, we have this issue all the time."

The point of the new parking idea is to let police stay close to their cars – even while getting a bite to eat – in case they have to respond to an emergency. Police say it is not about special privileges.

"Officers don't get a lunch break," Schmautz said. "The officer was still required – he was listening to his radio while he was ordering food to go."

Not everyone is a fan of marking off spots for police.

"Well, then you're just taking up parking spots that other people need, so I just think it makes more sense to allow them to park where they need to park … as long as it's not a safety issue," said Amanda Smith of Portland.

Prior to the Stensgaard case, the city's informal agreement with police was to allow them to park where they need to park. Now police are looking for a concrete parking policy that will hold up in court.

Schmautz said the city's transportation department and city commissioners are comfortable with the new parking plan.