Los Angeles vs. Santa Monica - A Contrast in Law Enforcement Priorities
This past Saturday night, the Los Angeles Police Department set up a Sobriety Check Point on Hollywood Boulevard between Gower and Bronson and staffed the effort with officers from the local Hollywood Station as well as a couple of dozen officers from West Traffic Division.
Captain Nancy Lauer, Commanding Officer of West Traffic, said they were committed to making the streets safer for everybody. "One of the most effective things we can do is remove drunk drivers from the streets. That's why we're here tonight"
Captain Lauer demonstrated her unique and effective management style by working her way through the crowd of officers, personally thanking each one of them for their efforts. She also greeted the pedestrians and spectators, explained the operation, passed out her business cards and asked the public for suggestions and feedback.
The operation was supervised by Sgt. Windsor and ran from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. with a special detail staying on site until 3:45 am.
Meanwhile, Santa Monica demonstrated its unique commitment to safer streets by running a task force on Friday night that focused on cyclists.
Santa Monica Police Officers were out in full force, riding motorcycles alongside the Santa Monica Critical Mass and citing cyclists for leaving the bike lane (not a violation of the law - CVC 21208) taking control of a traffic lane (not a violation of the law - CVC 21202) and turning left from a left turn lane. (again, not a violation of the law- CVC 22100)
An informal survey indicates that over a dozen cyclists received tickets for riding their bikes on the mean streets of Santa Monica.
A cyclist who goes by the nickname, "FuzzBeast," reports that the police were ignoring motorist behavior while focusing on the cyclists. "I was stopped at the corner of Colorado and 4th, waiting for the light to turn green for a left turn...well after the light was green two cars ran the red making a left turn past us. I turned to the cop as I rode off and said 'Yeah, well, what about them, they ran the red, I know you saw it, are you going to do anything about it?' They just scoffed at me."
There is history to the tension between the Santa Monica Police Department and the Critical Mass cyclists, with the SMPD writing tickets that fail to stand but that have a chilling effect on the success of the ride.
Through it all, cyclists are left wondering about Santa Monica's commitment to public spaces "where those on foot and on bicycle have equal priority with the automobile." Perhaps it doesn't include Friday nights!
Sgt. Horn, the supervising officer for the Santa Monica Police task force, was unavailable for comment.