For 4 Hours, Polite Driving Pays

Steve Jackson felt that knot in his stomach Wednesday when he saw those red lights flashing in his rear-view mirror.

But instead of giving him a ticket, the motorcycle cop did the unthinkable: He congratulated Jackson on his good driving. As Jackson recovered from the shock, the officer handed him a $20 gift certificate from Ralphs market.

“I’m stoked,” the 49-year-old Jackson said. “I thought I was going to get a ticket. I probably should donate it to the church.”

Jackson, from Hacienda Heights, was one of 50 people who stopped at the unlighted intersection at 10th Street and Beach Boulevard in Buena Park from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday and learned that this time, being pulled over by a cop had its advantages.

For some people, that is. Another 41 ended up with citations and fines, the result of an unusual sting by Buena Park police to make sure motorists stop for pedestrians at the intersection in front of the Civic Center.

“We’ve had a lot of complaints from people trying to cross the street,” said Sgt. Gary Jackson (no relation to Steve), who helped organize the sting. “Hopefully, this will educate people about their need to stop.”

The key player in this scheme was a detective who spent four hours walking back and forth in the crosswalk dressed as a civilian. Det. Dave Hankins, an undercover officer who ordinarily arrests drug dealers, spent Wednesday bravely posing as a pedestrian. Those who drove through the intersection while he was crossing were pulled over and given a ticket by one of six motorcycle officers tucked out of sight on a side street. Those who stopped were also pulled over--but they received the gift certificates.

“One guy slid to a halt and almost hit me,” complained Hankins, 31, who sports a goatee and came to work wearing shorts past his knees, a baseball cap and a T-shirt of the rock group KISS. “Everyone says I’m going to need my insurance policy today. I could have been hit easily if I wasn’t paying attention.”

That certainly was the consensus among local residents who gathered to cheer on the police officers and share their own tales of braving the traffic.

“It’s impossible to cross,” said Reina Martinez, 21, who lives down the street. “I’ve waited for an hour to cross the street. You have to go one lane at a time.”

Cindy Cole, 42, agreed. “It’s pretty hairy here. You’re always hearing screeches and thumps.”

Though there have been a handful of accidents involving pedestrians at the intersection, none have been fatal, police said. Fortunately there were no accidents Wednesday, though opinions of the operation were mixed among the motorists involved.

“This is really a good idea,” said Morris Awala, 28, who received a gift certificate. “You don’t want to touch a pedestrian.”

On the other side were drivers who could be paying fines of about $130 for almost clipping a cop. “I’m kind of upset,” said Eli Alvarez, 20, en route to Huntington Beach for a day of fishing. “It’s really hard to see someone when there’s a big diesel in front of you. This will pretty much ruin my day.”

Billy So, 22, said that getting stopped for a ticket would make him late for work. “They need to put up a sign,” he said. “This makes me very angry.”

And Michelle Tominov, 24, said that she was driving a rented car on the final day of a California vacation from Cedar Lake, Ind., when she got pulled over. “I’m appalled,” she said. “I’m 1,300 miles from home and I don’t even know what I did.”

At the end of the day, though, police organizers expressed satisfaction. “We think we’ve sent a message,” Sgt. Jackson said.

And what of Hankins, the narcotics agent who so gamely risked his life? Well, he said when his four-hour stint as a human target had ended, all things considered “I prefer buying drugs.”