LAPD Patrols Crack Down on West Valley Speeders

The Los Angeles Police Department tripled its traffic enforcement deployment in the western San Fernando Valley Tuesday to crack down on speeders, authorities said.

“After we had five fatals in that area on May 5, it was becoming evident that there was more of a problem there than other places,” said Sgt. Rod Grahek of the Valley Traffic Division.

An additional 11 officers were patrolling the streets Tuesday. They cited more than 100 people for speeding, failing to stop for red lights, or making left turns into oncoming traffic, Grahek said.

Grahek said most of the main thoroughfares were being targeted but more citations were given on heavily traveled streets such as Roscoe Boulevard, Sherman Way, Victory and Valley Circle boulevards.

Shifting traffic officers into a trouble spot is not uncommon, Grahek said. Usually the changes are made at the end of a deployment period, about a month. But because of the rash of fatal accidents, four alone last Friday, the change in the West Valley was made in the midst of the current deployment.

“People are just driving too fast in that area,” Grahek said. “They are in too much of a hurry and don’t always make it through (the) light.”

The extra concentration of officers in the West Valley will be continued through the end of the week, when it will be re-evaluated, he said.

“If a trend is starting someplace else we go there,” Grahek said.