After a social media video captured officers with the Los Angeles Police Department pulling over drivers who didn’t yield to pedestrians in Woodland Hills earlier this week, thousands of people have commented on the video, with many expressing outrage.
The video in question shows an LAPD operation on Ventura Boulevard near Canoga Avenue from Tuesday.
As two people, who were later identified as plain-clothed officers, were crossing an unmarked street, some drivers did not stop for the pedestrians.
Those drivers were then pulled over by officers on motorcycles and ticketed as part of the LAPD’s “pedestrian enforcement operation,” the police department exclusively told NBC4 Investigates.
Some social media users claimed what the LAPD did should be considered “entrapment” while others called out the plain-clothed officers for jaywalking.
The LAPD confirmed that the operation took place because there have been a number of people who were hit by cars nearby in recent weeks.
Nearly 50 cars were stopped during the operation, according to the LAPD, but it was not clear how many drivers were ticketed.
Robert Jay Stahl, the owner of Dollar Driving School in LA, shot the video, saying he was glad to see law enforcement doing the job to make sure people follow the law.
“You, as a driver, have to yield to the pedestrian, period,” Stahl said, adding that it doesn’t matter if the pedestrians themselves are breaking the law.
Stahl also said because the law says people should not impede traffic, jaywalkers should be cited, too.
According to traffic data obtained by NBC4 Investigations, the number of people hit and killed by cars in LA is down nearly 20% this year.
In the San Fernando Valley, five people have been killed this year, the LAPD said.
NBC4 Investigates pulled traffic data that shows the number of people hit and killed by cars in Los Angeles – is down nearly 20% this year.
In the Valley, LAPD says 5 people have been killed this year.
The LAPD’s Valley Division has data on the most dangerous intersections for people crossing the street, but the Woodland Hills area where the operation took place was not one of them.
Because of the number of pedestrian collisions this year, the LAPD said it will be conducting similar operations across Los Angeles while enforcing speed rules.
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