Letters to the Editor: Police shoot too many cyclists. Perhaps they should stop trying to ticket them

To the editor: I have been a bicycle advocate and electric-bike dealer for more than a decade, and until I read your article on the 16 times cyclists stopped by police have been shot in Los Angeles County since 2005, I thought I had heard every reason a person could give for not riding a bike.

Never though, had I heard that one of the greatest fears of some is running into a law enforcement officer. Sixteen bicyclists in L.A. shot since 2005, 11 of them fatally, is a bad record.

If the New York attorney general is calling to remove minor bike and pedestrian offenses from routine police enforcement, it’s time to give that recommendation a chance. People on bikes have enough to contend with while they try to get around without adding threat of overly aggressive law enforcement to the list.

Diane Swann, Davis, Calif.

The writer is a board member of the cyclist advocacy group Bike Davis.

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To the editor: In every case you cite, police allege that the bicyclist was doing something illegal according to the law. Why do our legislators pass these laws if some people do not want them enforced?

If the police didn’t enforce the laws they would be criticized for not doing their job, and if they do and a confrontation occurs, often they are put in an untenable situation.

Why can’t an alleged offender just cooperate with the police rather than escalating what should be a routine stop?

George Gawlik, Van Nuys