Over 160 drivers ticketed in South Pasadena police sting
#1
Over 160 drivers ticketed in South Pasadena police sting
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,6895209.story
More than 160 people received $500 traffic citations Wednesday as part of a sting by the South Pasadena Police Department involving a decoy school bus complete with people walking on and off the vehicle.
The sting -- designed to nab motorists who fail to stop for school buses with flashing red lights -- has generated debate in the city. Some said the program was unfair, charging that the location was unusual for a school bus, that the officers created a distraction and that there were no schoolchildren present.
"It was a crazy place for a school bus to be parked," said Valerie McAndrews, whose 16-year-old daughter was among those cited. "You don't stop in the middle of Huntington or you're going to be rear-ended. In this particular instance, I don't think there was any way to obey the law."
Others are supporting the effort, saying the city needs to crack down on drivers who don't follow the rules.
The yellow school bus first appeared on the busy six-lane road about 8 a.m. near the intersection of Milan Avenue, which has no stop sign or crosswalk. San Gabriel resident Mary Hatton, 42, said she approached the area about 8:45 a.m. and was confused when she saw more than a dozen officers among the cars in the middle of the busy street.
"It was a circus of lights and chaos," she said of the sting that included officers from the cities of Alhambra, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, San Marino and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Temple City station.
"No one was speeding," Hatton said. "I mean people were literally just trying to figure out what was going on and what to do to keep away from whatever the activity was. I thought I was being directed along with other motorists away from whatever it was that was happening."
Instead, Hatton also received the $500 ticket.
The South Pasadena Police Department decided to set up the sting in the area after receiving a complaint from the parents of a disabled child who boards a school bus on Huntington Drive, Police Chief Dan Watson said. "They've had a difficult time getting to the bus because people don't comply with the vehicle code," he said.
That code says drivers may not pass a school bus with its red lights flashing when it is "stopped for the purpose of loading or unloading any schoolchildren."
Sgt. Tony Abdalla said there were two decoys who got on and off the bus while the warning lights were flashing.
"There were no children to be seen from my vantage point," said Hatton.
She also said that the scene distracted more than it mimicked a life-like situation. This distinction may weigh in favor of those who decide to contest their tickets, said Santa Monica attorney Philip Israels. "If in fact what the officers are doing is suggesting that people commit a crime which they normally would not be committing, then we get into a whole issue of whether or not there's entrapment," he said.
Watson said Matthew St. George, a Superior Court commissioner in Alhambra, had been on site and assured police the operation was within legal guidelines.
"The fact that we wrote so many tickets in a short period of time is an indication that the driving public is not aware that they're required to stop or they're not paying attention." He said the sting was not designed to generate extra revenue for the city.
Some community members endorsed the officers' actions, especially on a road where traffic whizzes by and accidents are known to occur.
"We just had someone last year that got killed right up the street here," said Sandra Muro, a dental assistant whose office is nearby. "They're making a point that they need to slow down."
The sting -- designed to nab motorists who fail to stop for school buses with flashing red lights -- has generated debate in the city. Some said the program was unfair, charging that the location was unusual for a school bus, that the officers created a distraction and that there were no schoolchildren present.
"It was a crazy place for a school bus to be parked," said Valerie McAndrews, whose 16-year-old daughter was among those cited. "You don't stop in the middle of Huntington or you're going to be rear-ended. In this particular instance, I don't think there was any way to obey the law."
Others are supporting the effort, saying the city needs to crack down on drivers who don't follow the rules.
The yellow school bus first appeared on the busy six-lane road about 8 a.m. near the intersection of Milan Avenue, which has no stop sign or crosswalk. San Gabriel resident Mary Hatton, 42, said she approached the area about 8:45 a.m. and was confused when she saw more than a dozen officers among the cars in the middle of the busy street.
"It was a circus of lights and chaos," she said of the sting that included officers from the cities of Alhambra, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, San Marino and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Temple City station.
"No one was speeding," Hatton said. "I mean people were literally just trying to figure out what was going on and what to do to keep away from whatever the activity was. I thought I was being directed along with other motorists away from whatever it was that was happening."
Instead, Hatton also received the $500 ticket.
The South Pasadena Police Department decided to set up the sting in the area after receiving a complaint from the parents of a disabled child who boards a school bus on Huntington Drive, Police Chief Dan Watson said. "They've had a difficult time getting to the bus because people don't comply with the vehicle code," he said.
That code says drivers may not pass a school bus with its red lights flashing when it is "stopped for the purpose of loading or unloading any schoolchildren."
Sgt. Tony Abdalla said there were two decoys who got on and off the bus while the warning lights were flashing.
"There were no children to be seen from my vantage point," said Hatton.
She also said that the scene distracted more than it mimicked a life-like situation. This distinction may weigh in favor of those who decide to contest their tickets, said Santa Monica attorney Philip Israels. "If in fact what the officers are doing is suggesting that people commit a crime which they normally would not be committing, then we get into a whole issue of whether or not there's entrapment," he said.
Watson said Matthew St. George, a Superior Court commissioner in Alhambra, had been on site and assured police the operation was within legal guidelines.
"The fact that we wrote so many tickets in a short period of time is an indication that the driving public is not aware that they're required to stop or they're not paying attention." He said the sting was not designed to generate extra revenue for the city.
Some community members endorsed the officers' actions, especially on a road where traffic whizzes by and accidents are known to occur.
"We just had someone last year that got killed right up the street here," said Sandra Muro, a dental assistant whose office is nearby. "They're making a point that they need to slow down."
#2
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gg over 1 persons complaint lol i dont get it.. so those 160 drivers dont know how to drive? looks like they need to go back to dmv n learn their rules
#3
Guess they screwed up...
http://cbs2.com/local/School.Bus.Sting.2.1052510.html
Jun 19, 2009 8:59 pm US/Pacific
Police Ask To Dismiss Tickets In School Bus Sting
SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. (AP)
South Pasadena police have moved to dismiss more than 150 traffic tickets issued to drivers in a school bus sting targeting drivers who didn't stop for school buses.
Police officials asked the traffic court Friday to dismiss the citations after the sting operation created a stir.
The tickets were issued to drivers who failed to stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and two police cadets getting on and off.
Many complained that the bus stopped in an unusual location – on busy Huntington Drive, and they feared being rear-ended.
Capt. Richard Kowaltschuk says the operation did not meet the requirements of the code, which says drivers may not pass a school bus stopped to load or unload schoolchildren when its with red lights are flashing.
http://cbs2.com/local/School.Bus.Sting.2.1052510.html
Jun 19, 2009 8:59 pm US/Pacific
Police Ask To Dismiss Tickets In School Bus Sting
SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. (AP)
South Pasadena police have moved to dismiss more than 150 traffic tickets issued to drivers in a school bus sting targeting drivers who didn't stop for school buses.
Police officials asked the traffic court Friday to dismiss the citations after the sting operation created a stir.
The tickets were issued to drivers who failed to stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and two police cadets getting on and off.
Many complained that the bus stopped in an unusual location – on busy Huntington Drive, and they feared being rear-ended.
Capt. Richard Kowaltschuk says the operation did not meet the requirements of the code, which says drivers may not pass a school bus stopped to load or unload schoolchildren when its with red lights are flashing.
#4
yeah, that is totally bogus, it is a ficticious crime, without the police arranging the marked bus to be there, there would have been no crime.
also, there shouldn't be a school bus stop on a 6 lane highway, it should be on a nearby side street because there is no way people are going to notice a school bus stopping traffic in both ways on a 6 lane highway.
furthermore, school buses are not allowed to make stops in places other than their pre scheduled stops for insurance purposes.
on another note, i hate when the friggan bus driver won't stop yakking with some stupid kid or their parents while still stopped on the side of the road, the kid is off the damn bus, now either stop talking and move along, or turn off the lights!
also, there shouldn't be a school bus stop on a 6 lane highway, it should be on a nearby side street because there is no way people are going to notice a school bus stopping traffic in both ways on a 6 lane highway.
furthermore, school buses are not allowed to make stops in places other than their pre scheduled stops for insurance purposes.
on another note, i hate when the friggan bus driver won't stop yakking with some stupid kid or their parents while still stopped on the side of the road, the kid is off the damn bus, now either stop talking and move along, or turn off the lights!
#5
Go LA County for trying to rake in some dough! Idiots.
It's a good thing a lot of people complained about this or it would've been swept under the carpet and never heard about, letting the city get away with this crap.
It's a good thing a lot of people complained about this or it would've been swept under the carpet and never heard about, letting the city get away with this crap.
#7
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I may be wrong but since they are setting up these scenarios shouldn't this been considered as entrapment almost like when they went undercover in impounded modified cars to do street racing bust back then. I know there are strict laws that prevent them from doing that.
#8
They did something similar in San Gabriel a couple weeks back. They had an undercover cop cross a crosswalk that doesn't have stop signs or traffic lights and cited anyone who didn't wait for the undercover cop to make it from curb to curb.
#9
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Originally Posted by SleePi
They did something similar in San Gabriel a couple weeks back. They had an undercover cop cross a crosswalk that doesn't have stop signs or traffic lights and cited anyone who didn't wait for the undercover cop to make it from curb to curb.
#11
Originally Posted by AWOL
Originally Posted by SleePi
They did something similar in San Gabriel a couple weeks back. They had an undercover cop cross a crosswalk that doesn't have stop signs or traffic lights and cited anyone who didn't wait for the undercover cop to make it from curb to curb.
as for the bus problem, how hard is it to set up a stake-out at a REAL bus stop to get violators?
#12
I drove past one actually. Did not get stopped. There was no people in sight, just the bus and blinkers. Seemed out of place so I drove cautiously but did not stop at all.
By the way what the hell happened to the big "STOP" sign that sticks out of the left side of the buses. I know the smaller ones had/have them and it's far more clear.
By the way what the hell happened to the big "STOP" sign that sticks out of the left side of the buses. I know the smaller ones had/have them and it's far more clear.
#18
Originally Posted by H22acrd
James at least you can tint your front windshield!!!!!!hahahaha
I seriously feel bad for you guys out there. I heard the Govenator jacked up your registration fees and the cops just hassling people for no reason (ie Kirby and his "racing stickers" WTF?) just to write tickets..........it's not right.
On a continuing rant,.....for a state with hardcore firearm control/regulations, you guys have a substantial amount of shootings out there. Go figure. Cops should be looking for bigger fish to fry than throwing up a "school bus sting"
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