The La Verne Pedestrian Sting
By Ron - Thursday December 22nd 2005
While the LAPD regularly runs sting operations to crack down on prostitution and drug trafficking, La Verne police have their own worries. This week the LVPD are running a series of stings to catch drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians. This seems easy enough but let’s look at the rules and logistics behind a pedestrian sting.
- As with any sting, the main goal is to catch people committing a crime by means of deception, and embarrass the shit out of them over mass media. But failure to stop for a crossing pedestrian does not make the evening news. Strike one.
- Sting operations are supposed to be a secret. Announcing a sting in the local paper is counterproductive to running an efficient sting. We’re not off to a good start here.
- An officer will need to play the role of a potential victim. In a successful pedestrian sting, this may require bring run over by moving vehicles several times throughout the day. Any volunteers?
- It is against the law for officers to provoke the crime. This rules out haphazard sprinting through random intersections in hopes of getting blindsided.
- As COPS has taught us, when the bait is taken all hell must break loose: pealing police cars, blaring sirens, barking dogs, drawn pistols, handcuffs, what have you…
- If your city’s biggest concern is failure to yield, you’re in pretty good shape. Let it go.
Having grown up in La Verne, I can attest that there is little else for the LVPD to do on an average day. This sounds more useful than the (snark) typical DWB stop, and I support the stings.
I hope the La Verne PD has enough flak jackets for an operation of this magnitude.
Glendale is well-known for such stings (saw a couple of taped local news segments about it when I had to do traffic school last year), but unlike La Verne, it has enough pedestrianism that such a sting is necessary.
I sure would like for LAPD to get a grant from the state to do something like this, but I’d be happy with not having to see “DIECEOCHO XVIII” tags on my block.
I have family in La Verne. I don’t recall any problem intersections in the city, but if I had to guess, I’d say this is a result of a letter-writing campaign from the retirement community on Bonita and Damien. Damien High School is across the street and the students probably lose patience and cut off senior citizens who verrrrry slowwwwwly cross the street.
Also, I think it shouldn’t go unsaid that “Sting” and “pedestrian” are virtually synonymous. Guy hasn’t done anything worth a damn since he parted ways with Summers and Copeland.
I don’t think I’d do much else either if I were versed in the secrets of the Tantra.
Nice picture… What a tool
This happened to me today. I live in an area where there is a lot of crime. I was driving slowly and saw about 20 motorcycle cops, cop cars, and about 5 news cameras in addition to photo still camera’s.
I was already in the intersection (if there was a light it was green).
I went into a slight panic, because I am used to streets being closed and someone on the loose. So, I proceeded slowly so everyone could see what I was doing, and a guy ran out on the crosswalk while camera peeps yelled at me telling me I was going to kill a man, the man (who was not a real pedestrian) yelled at me telling me I was going to kill him. I was in shock at all of this. I got a ticket. I think I am going to court over this one. Thanks for your posting