Traffic enforcement near school prompts NAACP complaint
Published Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010 | 9:49 a.m.
Kermit R. Booker Elementary School
Metro Police issued 92 traffic-related citations across the Las Vegas Valley on Monday as part of an annual effort to boost safety near schools. But the operation prompted a complaint by the NAACP.
The NAACP alleged that jaywalking tickets handed out to parents near Kermit R. Booker Sr. Empowerment Elementary School unfairly penalized people who live in a low-income area.
NAACP officials, who are demanding the tickets be dismissed, said in a statement that “the actions of Metro officers have tainted the memory of this day for many parents and children at Booker.”
Metro, however, said it is simply targeting schools that have a history of traffic-related problems.
“Police work does not have ethnic parameters; it does not have income parameters,” Lt. John Faulis of Metro’s traffic bureau said. “It’s what is safest for this city and our community, and that is it.”
Faulis said officers issued 14 jaywalking tickets Monday, including four near Booker, along Martin Luther King Boulevard in west Las Vegas. A motorist near Booker also was cited for failure to yield and driving without a license, police said.
“With the start of school, one of our No. 1 priorities in the traffic bureau is to keep kids safe,” Faulis said. “People all over the summer, they’re used to driving a little bit faster and not having to pay attention to school zones.”
But Richard Boulware, chairperson of NAACP's legal redress committee, said police should have notified school officials about the enforcement so they could have warned parents, he said.
Plus, Boulware said the symbolism of minority children witnessing police giving their parents tickets on the first day of school works against efforts to create a "strong relationship between the minority community and the police department."
Faulis said Metro’s traffic bureau consulted the division that oversees school crossing guards to identify 30-plus Las Vegas schools that have had traffic-related problems. The enforcement plan in effect this week includes at least three schools within each of Metro’s eight area command patrols, he said.
The NAACP said Booker parents think using the crosswalk parallel to Martin Luther King Boulevard is more dangerous than crossing directly in front of the school, where there tends to be less traffic.
Faulis, however, urged pedestrians to use the crosswalks because traffic engineering studies have determined them to be the safest place to cross the street. He also pointed out that of 50 traffic-related fatalities this year, 17 have been pedestrians.
“That’s why we treat this so seriously,” he said.
During the safety enforcement initiative near schools across the valley Monday, Metro Police also issued:
• 24 speeding tickets.
• 33 administrative tickets for non-moving violations such as driving without insurance.
• Eight tickets for seat belt violations.
• Six tickets for other moving violations.
• Two tickets for reckless driving.
• One ticket for a red light violation.
Boulware said the NAACP hopes to discuss with police how the tickets were issued.
"I'm not sure what will happen, if anything," he said. "But we're going to raise this issue."
Discussion: 4 comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Coolican: Henderson officials out of loop on police brutality case, raising red flags
- Lumberjacks — ‘Where the Big Boys Eat’ — hiring for North Las Vegas location
- Berkley draws stark contrasts with Heller over immigration
- Two dead after accident in downtown Las Vegas
- Instant Analysis: Debating whether UNLV should continue series with San Diego State
- Howard Miller, prominent lawyer and ‘true Las Vegas native,’ dies at 68
- Superstar Whitney Houston dies at 48
- Short memories may serve president
- Police looking for man in white Ford Explorer
- Saying ‘No mas’ to government
Blogs
The Kats Report
Color from scene at Thomas & Mack: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
South Point owner Michael Gaughan's take on 'Vegas Stripped': 'I'll give it an 8' (4 Comments)
Author relishes writing the life story of ‘larger-than-life’ Oscar Goodman (3 Comments)
Elsewhere
Landowner: All roads could lead to Uxbridge casino
Revel reveals smoke-free casino opening
Cirque du Soleil show in Sands China casino to close this month
Meet the woman behind Sheldon Adelson
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.



I hope Metro doesn't dismiss those tickets. People need to learn that it is not okay to break the law, regardless of what income or ethnic bracket they fall into.
Regardless of income, it must have been easy picking for the cops and the city to give out tickets instead of posting a sign stating "No Jaywalking". It's around the city in other areas where pedestrians are not encouraged to cross the street. Why waste resources and police time telling people to not jaywalk when clearly it was feasible for this many people to do as much? Instead of walking over a tree that is always in the way, why not move it. These engineers should perhaps address the problem by better marking the crosswalk and put in more crossing guards and flashing lights.
Leave it to the NAACP to make it a racial issue.
Doesn't the NAACP have more important issues to deal with?
Now the Booker parents are smarter then the traffic engineers.
Come On, Get Real.
thekube - I'm not trying to slag you personally here, but there are many "sign's" and rules out there that state you shouldn't steal, rob, rape, vandalize or even loiter & solicit. Race, gender, economic status etc. aside people feel entitled to do what they want when they want and to hell with rules or signs. In fact some do it on purpose to spite the rules, (signs) and police. Remember it takes years of repeated actions over and over to make a stereotype, they exist most of the time because they are true.
Please continue to ticket the idiots that jaywalk. Yesterday on Eastern the car ahead of me screeched to a halt then the car on my right as a oblivious young man sauntered across Eastern. Thank goodness all of us driver's were focused and there was not a car in the third lane. But I am constantly amazed as I drive on the main streets of LV and individuals think nothing of stopping traffic and how they endanger everyone with there selfish desire to do as they please. There are consequences for actions. They chose to risk the lives of themselves, their children and endanger the drivers, they must pay the price of the ticket.
For the Communist party the law is for someone else. If they want to advance the Party then go back to DC.
Have to love that the NAACP feels that laws do not apply to "their people" all the time.
Enforcing laws is not fair if you are poor or black?
thekube; Why do we have to put up signs explaining common sense laws? Why can't people just obey the law and be safe rather then expect special treatment just because they live in a low income area? When I have to wreck my car to keep from running them over who is going to pay for it?
Could our sworn peace officers have been directed to increase quotas, under the guise of public safety, to generate income for the cash-strapped government agencies.
In Los Angeles, patrol officers are given quota 'suggestions".....8 hour shift 12-15 and 10 hour shift 15-18. A benefit among others, would enhance opportunity for overtime assignments.
Interesting way to teach your children not take responsibility for your own actions. You KNOW you are wrong but that doesn't matter...let's play the race card and call the NAACP. Better yet, maybe the NAACP wil pay the tickets for us. Yeah, the water is getting hotter. Some of you will be done at the RJC this morning to pay the ticket.
Ask yourself this question: Why do people refer to blacks as African-Americans? Most of their families came from Africa hundreds of years ago, so I would hardly consider them to be anything short of American. And how would you differentiate them from the actual Africans that move here from Africa? I have a large amount of Nigerian and Ethiopian friends who are unable to tolerate the attitudes and behaviors of American blacks. On that same note, if I was white and from south Africa, I could technically call myself an African-American.
Remember, the NAACP is a "special-interest group- and they will complain if one black person is involved in something negative. The "organizers" of that organization depend on making complaints and pointing the finger at people/organizations while making claims of racism in order to further their cause. And their cause, I might add, is about as racist as one can imagine.
To me, Metro writing jaywalking tickets has nothing to do with the Nevada Senate race. This is a right/wrong issue. Most would conclude you either pay the ticket or have your day in court. Most would NOT conclude that if I pay the ticket because I am wrong I am a Republican and if I fight the ticket I am a Democrat.
Anyone who has been on a CCSD school campus knows what a circus it is. Anyone who hasn't been on a school campus really shouldn't even comment here. You have no idea... I am surprised there aren't more accidents. If everyone would simply follow the rules, it would be much safer. That includes drivers AND walkers. The schools here are way overcrowded and everyone needs to PAY ATTENTION when dropping off and picking up their kids. I am so happy the police are there to make everyone pay attention. I wish there could be a cop at every school in the morning and afternoon ALL YEAR!. Parents that jaywalk should be ashamed of themselves. What difference does your income make??? Are people of lesser income ALLOWED to jaywalk??? Any jaywalker is intentionally putting their children in harm's way! What is a few more seconds or feet to get to the safe crosswalk??? (and I say "safe" as a loose term because even the crosswalks aren't that safe with the crazy drivers rushing,talking and texting). What kind of example are they giving their kids?? Cross the street anywhere you want??? When the parent isn't there with them, they will cross anywhere and probably get hit and the parent can only blame themselves. Parents, Please SHOW and TEACH your children to cross at the crosswalks. They are there for a reason. Let's do whatever it takes to keep our children and those of others SAFE!! PERIOD!!!
WHERE'S JESSE!! WHERE'S AL!! This has got to be one of the most pathetic storys of the year. NAACP is a joke.
weninvegas
I agree with everything in your post! I have inadvertently been stuck driving thru the middle of the campus at one of the Valley's fine schools and I'll tell ya' - I'd rather drive the Strip then deal with that crap! The PARENTS are the worst!!! They think they can do as they please. What an example for their kids!! Most of the time - there is no organization, the crossing guards are senile at best but if it wasn't for those guards, the kids would be darting out right in front of you. And again - the parents!!! I guess they think just because they're dropping their kids off at school, they do not need to follow traffic rules or signs.
Glad those jay walking tickets were issued! They may be poor, but that doesn't mean they can't learn how to cross the street properly. And SHOW BY EXAMPLE to their kids how to cross the street the proper way - at crosswalks and OBEY any traffic signs and signals. No wonder you see citizens of all ages just meandering into the street at any given time and place in certain areas of the valley. Then if you hit one of them - it's YOUR fault.
The NAACP should be using their time more constructively.
I just can't take the NAACP seriously. They're the perfect example of a group that encourages people to avoid personal responsibility and claim to be a victim, instead. Too bad, because there really are situations where they could help, but not enough to keep them in business, which is really what they're all about.
I live downtown,and every morning i drive down bridger street in front of the old Las Vegas high and the students walk right out in front of the cars(not in the crosswalks).Somebody is going to get hit by a car someday.These kids think this is a game.And then the school officials just sit there and watch it happening.The three ladys just stand there and smoke their cigarrettes and talk to each other like nothing is happening.And then they start yelling at parents who are dropping off their children.Most of the parents do a u turn and then leave without any regard for traffic laws.
the NAACP is a joke. they cry when the police dont make their hoods better, but when they are protecting their precious future racists they cry about it as profiling? does this worthless group think that there are not any schools in white neighborhoods that are being enforced in the same manner as well?
the naacp needs to be removed from society. they are the reason racism exists in this day and age. they promote it.
Is the NAACP claiming that low income people are being discriminated against because they are more likely to jaywalk than non low income people?
The NAACP better call Harry Reid because he can fix anything with phone calls.
"Doesn't the NAACP have more important issues to deal with?"
No. This is all that is left of a once important organization. The battle for civil rights is over, it's been won. Every US citizen has the same rights under the constitution regardless of race.
What we have now is a mad scramble for quotas, affirmative action, preferences and special treatment.
What does the NAACP have to do with individuals who made a choice to break the law. There are rules that are applied to every person who live within the city limits that are to protect the people of that city. DO NOT JAYWALK - A CAR CAN KILL YOU. There are rules of the road for those who walk, ride a bike, or drive a car. Follow the rules since they apply to every age, of every race, creed, religion, sex. There are no exceptions and rules are not to be adjusted because you think you are special.
Put 'NAACP' in any headline and watch all the right-wing cockroaches come crawling out of the woodwork.
That or 'ACORN'.
In my lifetime I have never seen this country so racially and politically divided- I believe Obama had an unbelievable opportunity which he has missed- he could have been the great uniter- he is supposed to be the President of the UNITED states and all the people-not working very well
Chunky says:
How would the NAACP even have gotten word of a handful of tickets?
Chunky thinks that if you look into who got the tickets you'll find a close tie back into someone closely associated with the organization.
That's what Chunky thinks!
@LastThroes
This is not a vast right-wing conspiracy or a progressive liberal agenda. It is about obeying the law!
Once again, having nothing of importance to add to the discussion, lastthroes & tonycrago name-call. Typical leftist tactics.
24 speeding tickets. Driving faster than the posted speed limit. Check.
33 administrative tickets for non-moving violations such as driving without insurance. Driving without insurance. Check.
Eight tickets for seat belt violations. Not wearing a seatbelt. Check.
Six tickets for other moving violations. Moving violations. Check.
Two tickets for reckless driving. Reckless driving. Check.
One ticket for a red light violation. Ran a red light. Check.
Sounds like there are terrible drivers in the area to me. I'm pretty sure you would get the same results in other areas of the Las Vegas Valley.
The only thing the NAACP is good for is taking up cause for the wrong. Its not a matter of ticketing people who live in low income areas, its a matter of public safety. These violators are making it difficult for the crossing guards to do their jobs when people are j-waking. You know if one of those so call low income people child were to get hit by a car what would happen, you bet they would be all over the police. NAACP is suppose to be an organization to help for the advancement of color people, but they do absoulutely nothing for their advancement. NAACP should be conducting seminars for color people on how to advance and improve their lives. They should be providing assistance to improve the lives of color people. They should be helping in making these so call low income areas a better place to live. But, instead they file complaints against law enforcement, aid the violators, and provide service against society. Everyone knows that these people will not pay for these fines, but those people in other communities will pay their fines. Its seems that certain people in the community feel they are above the law and use their blight has a handicap.
A pedistrain was injuried today after being hit by a car. Maybe if Metro was there issuing tickets today, this would have been prevented. Have you thought about that NAACP?
Let's see now Obamination, Rangel, Sharpton, Jackson (both) and a few other blacks play the race card. What makes anyone think that the NAACP would not play it????? Ignorance of the law is no excuse! Pay the fine!!
Let's be real, this isn't about safety. It's about fine income.
I'm sick of hearing the same lame excuses. You're picking on me because: I'm white, I'm black, I'm Hispanic, I'm on welfare, I'm fat, I'm bald, I'm above the law, I'm too f*in lazy to walk a few feet to a crosswalk, I'm an idiot - the list goes on.
Just take responsibility and move on, preferably in a crosswalk.
The NAACP has issued a complaint that's it a complaint they the NAACP knows that the complaint has no substance and with no substance it has no merit and no merit means no legal claim that's why it is a complaint and nothing more there will be no law suits by the agency, The complaint is meant to oppress the the law enforcement agency from future ticket writing, The NAACP wants everyone to fear them and to ask permission from them before any actions can be done.
Further more had a child been hit by a car then you would be hearing Metro doesn't do enough in our part of town they metro turns a blind eye and allows these things to go on they do these things because we are minorities! Some people think that pedestrians have the right of way, They do only if the pedestrian is in compliance with the laws set forth by the governing body.
I would hope that Metro or the governing body does not dismiss the tickets and ask the NAACP to state there case with a case in other words Put up! or Shut up!
And the ones who have received a citation you can plead your case as well, You can say not Guilty or Guilty and then proceed from there.
"NAACP officials, who are demanding the tickets be dismissed..."
Demanding????? REALLY?? Who the hell do they think they are to be DEMANDING anything? How about this.. I DEMAND that the NAACP go (blank) themselves.
they should have been notified, for what? why not notify them every time that they drive a vehicle without a license that they maybe breaking the law and that maybe they should be packing just in case they get stopped for some illegal action on their part that they are not responsible for their actions because they are african americans.
A grand total of 4 jaywalking tickets were issued at that school. That would be a big deal if there were only 5 students at that school. When your little angel of a child gets run over by a car we better not hear from you "where were the police" Post a sign ? warn the parents " give me a break. BREAKING NEWS !!! its against the law to walk across the street outside of a cross walk.
Ok why doesnt the NAACP just pay the fines for these people if they have a problem with it. These people should have plenty of money seeing as how they get food stamps and all kinds of government assistance every single month for years. If you dont want to pay a ticket just follow the rules and no ticket. I could see if they were just handing out tickets to people not breaking the law but these people all broke the law. Just pay your fine and go on with your lives. And the NAACP is losing whatever credibility it might once have had.
What this article isn't telling you is the speeding tickets were given out to White drivers. The White drivers going to work on North MLK always speed and break the law when in West LV. Their excuse is just like Metro's. I'm afraid for my live so I speed through school zones so I can get to my nice cushy job. I say give those jaywalkers a ticket. There are cross walks at Blankenship and Balzar. I'd like to see Metro ticket all of the White drivers speeding down MLK. All of the White people that I know speed in school zones.
NAACP needsto sit down and do something for the advancement of people of color. The branch here in Las Vegas is a joke!!!
the only thing thats gonna advance colored people is if they stop using their color as a life crutch, clean up your ghetto, ditch your drug dealer magnet of a car with 43 inch DUBS, stop smelling like a reefer field, speak english and not flunkbonics and move on. the NAACP defends criminal activity. i say, let these black neighborhoods commit all the crimes they want and not arrest any of them, let the community wake up and start begging for cops. make the community sign a contract stating that the naacp is not allowed to butt in and cause headaches. hopefully during this no cop time, 45% or more of the gangbangers will shoot themselves and each other
by the way, i remember taking some arts classes and the colors black and white are actually not even technically colors, so why is the naaCp looking to advance blacks, when black is not even technically a color? if they wanna call it a color, then white is a color and why do they not help advance whitey?
NAACP is a front for legal racism. its a joke of an organization and they should be taken out of mainstream society. racism exists because of them and other morons like rev al, jesse, and that muslim punk that has his tools selling those racist newspapers at the corner of charleston and mlk. i love reading those. makes me glad im white and not subjected to that kind of racist views manipulating my mindset. theymay was well just print 40 pages that say nothing more than blame and kill whitey.
If any of those ticketed receive any government assistance such as free school breakfast/lunch, section 8 housing, government housing projects, WIC, welfare, food stamps, free medical, subsidized childcare, etc.....then we the taxpayers are simply getting the money refunded back to us through a police fine.
Kind of funny.
....People need to wonder, "What would Kermit Booker Sr. think......ahh, well.... some things just never change....
Send the NAACP to Haiti,
I hear they need help
How this became a political thing to some people is beyond me. How this is a race issue is beyond me. If I jaywalk, I get a ticket, I know I did it so I pay the ticket. I drive everyday by school zones in the "nicer" areas of town, and guess what? On Monday, about 4 or 5 parents were being ticketed when they went across the street NOT IN A CROSS WALK! All of us stopped for the parents and kids, but you know, the crosswalk (with crossing guard) was about 100 feet away. I don't care what race you are, do the right thing, especially when your children are watching!
Hey it only costs $150,000.00 per year per cop SO COME ON, PAY UP, PAY UP, PAY UP or
FILE BANKRUPTCY; fire all government employees and re-hire those willing to work for the national average of the private sector with those same private sector benefits.
NAACP officials, who are demanding the tickets be dismissed, said in a statement that "the actions of Metro officers have tainted the memory of this day for many parents and children at Booker."
...............................
I would be more concerned that the children are learning bad habits from their parents.
When you get run over because you were in the street at the wrong place it does not matter if you are rich or poor black red yellow or white you are as dead as the next person. Please keep in mind the poor driver who has to live with that memory the rest of their life. What a dumb way to end your life and the NAACP should look at this this way and be thankful the police are looking out for everyone other wise when people are run over the NAAP won't be complaining how blacks do not recieve police protection how ironic damn if I do damn if I don't.
I am American who happens to be black. I feel this is a stupid move by the NAACP for attention. The main point is that they were jaywalking not were they lived. The metro police should not dismiss these tickets. How about having the parents do volunteer work to pay off the tickets & lets hope they learn a lesson.
I hope they poured some Old English 800 on the ground for their hommies.
i agree that the naacp is way outta control on this subject. its quite ridiculous. i agree that if you jaywalk, whatever race you are, you pay the price. jaywalking is dangerous whether you cross an affluent street or a poor street. a car can injure or kill you whether your rich or poor. PEOPLE need to take responsibility for their actions. i see plenty, all races, getting ticketed for various reasons. jaywalking is jaywalking. i, however, dont agree with some of the comments that seem to degrade the people that live in that area. not everyone who lives there feel that the tickets should be dismissed, nor are they all poor and on welfare. that is not a fair statement to make. one person even said "carpet bomb the whole worthless area" wow. worthless area? strong comment. makes you wonder what people really think! that seems to be a racist statement as well. i was never taught to discriminate against anyone, i dont teach my daughter to discriminate, and so it amazes me to hear and read about this. i suppose racism will never die, sterotypes will forever live on, and our children, of all races, are growing up with this nonsense. its too bad. i teach my child right from wrong and can only hope she carries it through life. oh....and i will say this to those above who think so low of the area: i am an african american/black woman who lives on mlk and lake mead, my child does attend booker elem, she does use the crosswalk and i know because some days i do watch her to make sure she obeys the law, i am not poor, i am on my way to owning my home, i do work 40+ hrs a week, i do make @ 60k a year (not rich but not poor either). i am not on welfare, do not use food stamps for grocery, and i do drive a nice car bought without drug money. please dont sterotype a person by where he/she lives. this is not what you want our children to learn. it has to stop somewhere...
Jaywalking tickets are $190.00, I know I paid one. If these people get off because of the color of thier skin then I want my money back too. Pay the fine , lesson learned.
Four tickets for jaywalking hardly constitutes a "ganging up" by the Police. If they can't afford it, too bad. I got caught in a speed trap where I'm pretty sure I wasn't going that fast, but had to pay anyway. I was on my way to work. It cost me more than the day's earnings at work. "Hey, they're picking on the working folks", right? A day in traffic court made it obvious to me that ability to pay didn't get anyone a break. I heard many people ahead of me plead that they lost their job and couldn't afford it. Didn't matter, they were put on the "payment plan". I actually got a break on the cost, probably because of the courtesy I gave to the court and even to the ticketing officer.
Stop making excuses. I'm tired of this crap. Teach your children not to jay walk or pay the fine.
The NAACP is pure trash and rabble. Now let's imagine that Metro would not have a presence in the aforementioned location, what would we hear then?
"""Metro racist, does not protect minority children"""
and naturally in some church for the losers, >> gawd damn America, isn't it Mr. Hussein O ?
You can't win for losing with those cockroaches and rabble rousing gang that is the NAACP.
"Boulware said the NAACP hopes to discuss with police how the tickets were issued." Uhhhh in writing....you really need a discussion to figure that one out? :-)
i remember in NY many years ago, blacks were rioting because the cops were letting a black hood destroy itself or something along those lines as an excuse. yet, you are rioting causing damage to your precious hood!
the current generation of black people in the ghetto are pathetic. when i worked in LE, i used to have older black folk tell me all the time that they are embarassed to be black because of how they youth act and use the race card. thats sad. i have had black folks from other parts of the world say that american blacks are an embarassment to their race.
the NAACP should listen to the black community as a whole, not just the ones that live in black neighborhoods in urban areas in the united states. they dont truly see what is going on. you want to end racism, well stop creating that tension. me as a WHITE MALE, can see this fairly. its not black folks as a whole, its the black folks that follow farrakhan and sharpton and hackson and groups like the NAACP that are holding themselves back, and put a bad taste in the mouths of non-black folks.
so ditch the baggy pants, the entire thug look, get a real job, stop committing crimes of any kind, stop dealing drugs and collecting welfare, get your damn high school diploma and take your blacks only available college grants, stop blasting your rap music all over town in your pile of garbage car with rims worth more than three of those cars, and maybe just maybe mainstream society will accept you as a human being and not a scumbag using your race as a life crutch. and im not singling these basics out to blacks only, whites and hispanics that cry about it too need to stop, but if a white man used their color he would get laughed at.
there is a lack of sympathy on my end for these dirtballs of society and yet there are groups of these people out there that back their stupid actions of life up as being acceptable.
this is what has happened to america. a nation has been weakened because of these minority groups whining and crying about their race holding them back and we need to adapt to them. just like that affirmative action bull. maybe if you scored higher on a test you would get a good job, but instead you hope your race will get you that job that you are underqualified for. what a shame huh?
if MLK was alive today, he would be ticked off. this was not his dream. other morons like rev al and jesse and NAACP have taken his dream and ripped it apart. for shame.
Wow, sigtwenty, you really nailed it! Run for City council or Mayor or Governor, I'll vote for you! That was very appropriate, nicely said and all so very true. I hope everybody reads your comment and remembers it.
I thought the law applies to everyone? Am I mistaken?
Instead of paying fines, maybe the jaywalkers should get a community service sentence of manning the crosswalks and helping protect their own children and neighborhood children in the school crossing zones for a few weeks. They might see how many people ignore the speed limits and crosswalks entirely and how maybe they are teaching their kids that jaywalking is ok is making them even more unsafe in an already unsafe situation. People honk at kids in the crosswalks, speed up as soon as they collect their own kids, double and triple park, and then no one can see kids walking out between cars. If the NAACP wants to do something constructive for the particular neighborhood, they could start by being out there in the school zones every day for a few weeks encouraging drivers to slow down and observe some slowdown and courtesy driving habits. They could try forming a useful safety net for the kids. Set a good example for action instead of whining when authorities try to follow up on longstanding safety procedures already in place .
I can just imagine what the NAACP would have said if someone got hit and killed by a car while they were jaywalking.."The cops don't care about our neighborhood, and weren't watching our schools." You can't have it both ways, people!! Do you really expect the cops to WAVE at you while you put your kids in danger by jaywalking them across the street to school? I drive all around this town for a living, and can't even count the numerous people I almost nail jaywalking that are on all sides of town, and are all shades of people.
someoneblue- I believe it was the NAACP that "alleged that jaywalking tickets handed out to parents near Kermit R. Booker Sr. Empowerment Elementary School unfairly penalized people who live in a low-income area." I think they can be blamed for getting this in motion. Of course some comments are uneducated and racist (carpet-bomber), but we (no matter what color our skin is) have to deal with those kinds of people every day. Please keep teaching your daughter to not discriminate and to use the crosswalks.I do the same. At least there are some good parents out there. Maybe we can set an example.
NAACP wants special treatment for Black students. They want laws that apply to everyone else to not apply to them. NAACP is a racist organization that promotes segregation. I wouldn't be the lease bit surprise is Obama steps in and changes law to benefit NAACP and black citizens.