Task Force Targets Illegal Taxicabs

Delia Sarracino and Joyace Kizuka stood on the corner of Cesar Chavez Avenue and Soto Street for 45 minutes Saturday waving and jumping as they tried to hail a taxi.

After nine passed, with the drivers glancing at the pair suspiciously, a white van with taxi markings pulled over at the Los Angeles intersection.

Across the street, state Department of Transportation Officer Jo Ann Frampton radioed to reserve police Officer John Hynes, “We have a nibble, stand by.”

“Are you a taxicab?” the 68-year-old Sarracino asked in Spanish. When the driver answered yes and said he would give them a ride, Kizuka touched her hair.

Moments later Hynes and Frampton arrested the shocked driver on suspicion of taking fares outside of his licensed area.

Sarracino, Frampton, Hynes and Kizuka are part of an LAPD task force that tries to catch some of the about 1,500 to 2,000 cabs operating illegally in Los Angeles.

Saturday’s sting operation was part of the LAPD Central Traffic Division task force’s monthly “bandit taxi” detail.

The task force is composed of at least 20 reserve police officers, 10 civilian volunteers, and officers from the LAPD and Department of Transportation.

The task force, started a year and a half ago, has made more than 120 arrests, said Sgt. Frank Hurtado.

But bandit taxis are still a serious safety concern, he said.

In January, six people were killed when the driver of an unlicensed, uninsured cab ran through a Blue Line crossing gate in Compton and the vehicle was hit by a train.

“Over 70% of the people we arrest” are wanted for other crimes, Hurtado said. “Some are wanted for child molestation or the transportation of illegal substances.”

Legal taxi drivers must have a driver’s license, insurance and registration, and they must submit to background checks. Many bandit taxi drivers cannot get jobs with legitimate taxi companies because they have criminal records or lack other requirements.

Some bandit taxi drivers paint their own vehicles, while others lease cars for about $125 a day, Hurtado said.

Illegal taxis come in all colors, many are Chevrolets, and most do not have domes on top with advertisements or meters.

Legal taxis always have round stickers with a Los Angeles City Hall emblem on both front doors. They also have laminated identification cards posted inside with the drivers’ photo, name, address and license.

The task force also searches for taxis that are legal but not licensed to operate in Los Angeles. Such cabs are allowed to enter Los Angeles and drop off passengers, but cannot pick up anyone in the city, Officer Ray Bergeron said.

Sarracino, an after-school program coordinator for the Department of Recreation and Parks, knows how dangerous it is to get into an illegal cab.

“She had to jump out of the car because he was making advances to her and scaring her,” Sarracino said of a friend’s experience in a bandit taxi. “It could happen to anyone. Once you step in, you are at their mercy.”

Reserve officers usually work part time and earn about $50 a month. Some are trained to carry guns and do routine law enforcement tasks, while others help with reports and assist officers in sting operations.

Volunteers are not paid, but receive some training.

Bergeron said most volunteers and reserve officers work as decoys because they want to make the streets safer.

Irma Diaz, 50, a parking garage manager and reserve officer, agrees.

“It bothers me here in poorer districts when you see a mother and a baby get in these cabs. What could happen to them?” Diaz said.

Many illegal cabs are not up to safety standards, Bergeron said. Once, the task force arrested a driver who was using unsecured lawn chairs as seats in his taxi van, he said.

The task force has kept an eye on a bus station on 7th Street, where bandit taxis wait for unsuspecting tourists, and on Soto Street, where a rape victims was picked up several months ago.

Another rape victim, a 16-year-old girl, got in a bandit taxi on April 30. The driver took her to a tunnel near the Los Angeles River and assaulted her, Hurtado said.

Alfonso Vigil was killed April 22 after he got a ride with a bandit taxi driver downtown. The driver took Vigil home and killed him, apparently during a robbery, police said.

There have been no arrests made for the murder or rapes.

Bandit taxi drivers who are arrested usually pay fines between $250 to $750, and their vehicles are confiscated, Hurtado said.