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WOODLAND HILLS, LOS ANGELES () — A viral video involving Los Angeles police on busy Ventura Boulevard is sparking conversation online.
Police are calling it an “enforcement operation” involving jaywalking pedestrians, but it’s not the jaywalkers who police are going after.
Many viewers in the comments of 7’s social media posts are calling it “entrapment,” asking if the enforcement operation even does anything to enhance safety.
“The cops are hiding in parking lots and hiring people to walk across the street,” an onlooker in Woodland Hills said in the now-viral video that’s sparking debate online.
The video shows an LAPD pedestrian enforcement detail targeting drivers who failed to yield for those crossing the street outside of a crosswalk on Tuesday.
“Whoever passes them, they get pulled over. Look at the cops. Y’all are f—– up. That is crazy!” the witness said.
LAPD confirmed the department conducted the operation in marked and unmarked crosswalks in “high injury” areas identified as being likely for fatal or severe traffic collisions. They said the goal is to educate drivers and enhance safety.
They noted that California law treats unmarked crosswalks the same as marked crosswalks, meaning drivers have an equal legal obligation to yield to pedestrians either way.
The department says this year, there have been 39 vehicle versus pedestrian fatalities in the San Fernando Valley, exceeding the number of homicides at 35. Additionally, there have been 150 serious injuries.
“Pedestrian safety remains a priority and the purpose of pedestrian enforcement details is to educate motorists, raise awareness, and ultimately enhance the safety of pedestrians throughout the San Fernando Valley,” LAPD said in a press release.
Even with those statistics, along Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, some people are questioning law enforcement’s tactics.
“I don’t think LAPD should be setting up anybody. I think it should be kind of a, you enforce something, but not settling regular people up,” said Oz Ovsepyan from Burbank.
“To target people who are just trying to make it through their day or get to where they need to go, it’s not very productive. But at the same time, I don’t want to get hit by cars, so I kind of do see both ways a little bit. But I think the LAPD has better things to do,” said Anna Terebelo from Sherman Oaks.
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