Posted on 08/16/2023 1:14:59 PM PDT by grundle
As the City of Los Angeles struggled to reduce pedestrian deaths after its deadliest year in decades, state lawmakers have repealed jaywalking laws in the name of equity. And one high-profile prosecutor questioned whether the new rules are saving any lives.
So far this year, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, the city is on track to see a reduction from 2022's 20-year high in pedestrian fatalities. But nearly three-quarters of the deaths involved potential jaywalkers.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney, the DA candidate who landed a life prison sentence for the man who killed rapper Nipsey Hussle, is calling the deadly results "predictable outcomes."
"The new law, which legalized jaywalking, was enacted in January of 2023 and has already led to 19 fatalities due to unsafe crossings" out of the 26 pedestrian fatalities in Los Angeles through Aug. 7, McKinney said. "California’s pedestrian fatality rate is [already] 25% above the national average."
McKinney, who called the new jaywalking law "equity run amok," is running to unseat his incumbent boss, District Attorney George Gascon, in the upcoming 2024 election and has been sharply critical of soft-on-crime policies.
"Lawmakers justified legalizing jaywalking to reduce law enforcement’s contact with citizens," McKinney said. "Supporters of the new law believed it would remove a justification for police to stop and question people in minority communities. The predictable trade-off for reducing traffic enforcement has been more deaths of pedestrians."
California state Assembly GOP leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital that "legalizing jaywalking is a clear example of California Democrats' reckless disregard for public safety. Like so much of their legislation, this bill put Californians in danger in pursuit of a radical agenda to eliminate consequences for breaking the law."
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Simple. Every driver install a roo bar on his vehicle and have fun with it.
“As goes California, so goes the country.”
Scarier than ever.
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