Connecticut police clerk under fire after she's caught on video refusing to accept $100 in coins as a fine payment

A West Haven police clerk has been accused of refusing to take $100 dollars in coins as a payment for a fine.

Myra Smith was worried that her fine for parking would double if she did not pay the fine on time.

Due to financial limitations, Smith said she had no choice but to pay $100 fine in coins that she had saved over the course of two years. On July 19, Smith went to the police station to pay the fine.

West Haven Police clerk Michelle Caron, who was supposed to deal with the fine payment, refused to take the coins, according to Smith.

“I showed her the coins, and I told her that I need to use this to pay my fine. And she got upset. ‘She was like: what is that?’ and I was like 'this is 100 dollar,' and she was like, 'I am not taking that, I’m not taking it. I don’t have time to count them, and I am not counting that,'” Smith, 37, told ABC News over the phone Tuesday.

“I did not have a hundred dollars like in cash or bills, all I had was a hundred dollars in coins that I have been saving up over the course of two years.”

The ticket had to be paid within 21 days or the fine would double to 200 dollars, so she had no choice but to use the coins, according to Smith.

“If I don’t have one hundred of course I don’t have 200,” she said. “So I’ve decided at the last minute that I was just [going to] use the coins, so just I just can pay the fine.”

While Caron’s refusal to take the coins upset Smith, she did not back down.

“I told her that you will have to take the payment. This is the only way that I can make the payment. I could not afford for the fine to double,” Smith said.

Caron did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Eventually, the supervisor, Sgt. Stanley Pliszka, stepped in and counted the coins. Pliszka, who said it took 20 minutes to count the coins, acknowledged the clerk violated policy and blamed it on a long week due to short staffing, according to ABC New Haven Affiliate WTNH.

"I wouldn't want anyone to be treated disrespectfully. We are here to serve. Not knowing what happened, if any citizen believes they were not treated fairly, they should file a complaint,” Mayor Nancy Rossi said in a statement, WTNH reported.

Mayor Nancy Rossi’s office did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Smith is planning to file a complaint with the internal affairs department of West Haven police regarding her interaction with Caron.

“At this point I am going to file a complaint with internal affairs. And then I am going to let them do their investigation,” she told ABC News.