Crackdown Aims at Cornering L.A. Jaywalkers

On his way to traffic court to contest a ticket, college student Stacey Tittle committed a crime.

It’s a crime that police estimate occurs an average of twice a second somewhere in Los Angeles, but it has been largely ignored--until now.

“I was only trying to catch the bus,” 19-year-old Tittle said as officer Mike Hagen cited him for jaywalking. “I never thought about getting a ticket. It just never crossed my mind.”

In a crackdown on jaywalking downtown, police issued more than 500 citations last week. Pedestrians were ticketed for ignoring traffic lights, straying outside crosswalks and disobeying pedestrian signals.

Tittle got into trouble when he darted across Hill Street just as the pedestrian signal started flashing: “Don’t Walk.”

‘Absolutely Ridiculous’

“Being caught sort of defeated the whole purpose of running across the street. I forgot I was in downtown Los Angeles,” Tittle told Hagen, one of eight officers in the department’s new Traffic Complaint Unit that patrols downtown. They are paid overtime for each extra two-hour shift they work.

Some people caught in the crackdown questioned the merit of the extra effort. “This is absolutely ridiculous,” said 25-year-old Deborah Gallerie, visiting Los Angeles from Huntington Beach. “I’ve never gotten a ticket before in my life. But I guess they’re only doing their job. I just wish I wasn’t one of the people who got caught.”

The unit was created in response to the high number of pedestrians hit by cars and trucks. Twenty-two people have been killed in traffic accidents in downtown Los Angeles this year, and 55 have been seriously hurt. More than half the deaths resulted from jaywalking, police said.

Hagen wrote 55 tickets during the four hours he was on patrol last week around two busy intersections, Hill Street at 6th Street and at 7th Street. The most frequent fine for a jaywalking violation is $5, according to a court official.

“It’s a game,” said Hagen, 37, who works the jaywalking shift before his normal street patrol begins about 2:30 p.m.

‘Always in a Rush’

“Most people realize that what they’re doing is wrong, but they take their chance. People there are always in a rush to get somewhere, especially during lunch time,” said Hagen, as he strolled up 6th Street scanning for violators.

“Pedestrians don’t realize just how dangerous jaywalking can be. A person in the wrong place can set off a chain reaction of events that can have disastrous results,” he said. “The number of tickets I write is really only limited by how fast I can write, but I really don’t pay any attention to quantity.”

Although Hagen may not be out to set records, he often has a difficult time persuading pedestrians of his true intentions. Many think they are being unfairly singled out, and others say the police should busy themselves with more serious crimes.

Almost all violators appear somewhat shocked when Hagen walks up and says, “Hi. How are you today? I’m going to have to write you a ticket for jaywalking.”

Truck driver Ali Alenno, who says he has received 35 jaywalking tickets, thought he took all the necessary precautions. He looked right, left, then right again to make sure a policeman wasn’t around. He even waited for the light to turn green. Hagen’s trained eye spotted him walking 15 feet outside the crosswalk.

“Shoot,” Alenno said as he stepped onto the sidewalk. “Don’t I get a discount this time?”

‘You Don’t Win’

“Nope, this isn’t the ‘Wheel of Fortune.’ You don’t win a microwave or anything,” Hagen said as he pulled out his ticket book. “If you like thrills, Magic Mountain would be a lot cheaper.”

Alenno said he knows jaywalking is risky. “I know there’s always the chance that I’ll get caught. Sometimes I do, but most of the time I can outsmart the cops. Tickets obviously don’t stop me.”

Diamond seller Nelson Luna knew he was taking a chance when he ran across 6th Street on his way back to work.

“This turned out to be a very expensive lunch,” Luna said. “I just wasn’t lucky this time. I looked all around and saw nobody. I don’t know where the cop came from. Sometimes you’re just in a hurry, especially when you only get a half hour to eat. I’m going to make my boss pay for this ticket. It was his idea that I go get the lunch.”