Graffiti Party Didn’t Stand Ghost of a Chance

Undercover transit cops tricked a couple of high schoolers Thursday who were treating themselves to a little graffiti party in a bus in North Hollywood.

“We had received complaints about students writing graffiti on their way to school, and so, in the spirit of the holiday, one of our officers disguised himself with a ‘Joker’ mask,” said Police Sgt. Shari Barberic of the Southern California Rapid Transit District. The man in the mask climbed aboard Line 228, which was headed toward North Hollywood High School, “and took a seat joining two other non-costumed officers,” Barberic said.

Moments later, he and his fellow officers arrested a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, and halted the teens’ Halloween handiwork, Barberic said. The officers involved were assigned to the RTD’s Graffiti Habitual Offenders Suppression Team--known by the acronym GHOST.