San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Ting takes aim at jaywalking law
The video shows two Orange County sheriff ’s deputies wrestling on the sidewalk with a Black man they tried to stop for allegedly jaywalking across a San Clemente street in September. Minutes later, Kurt Andreas Reinhold, a 42yearold father of two, was shot and killed.
In a cell phone recording of the confrontation, Reinhold can be heard asking, “Where did I jaywalk?”
In October 2018, it was Chinedu Okobi who died while being tased and struck with batons by San Mateo County sheriff ’s deputies after he allegedly jaywalked in Millbrae. In April 2017, Nandi Cain was beaten by a Sacramento police officer after allegedly committing the same infraction.
Cain was eventually released without charges. Assembly Member Phil Ting of San Francisco wants to repeal the law that preceded these violent encounters. On Thursday, the Democratic lawmaker unveiled AB1238, or the Freedom to Walk Act, which would decriminalize jaywalking across the state.
“Whether it’s someone’s life or the hundreds of dollars in fines, the cost is too much for a relatively minor infraction,” Ting said in a statement. “It’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians.”
AB1238 would make it legal to cross a street outside of a crosswalk or against a traffic light when it doesn’t cause an immediate hazard.
As for what constitutes an immediate hazard, the bill’s sponsors say they are working with law enforcement to determine that.
“We’re focusing specifically on repealing jaywalking laws that prohibit a pedestrian from even crossing midblock or against a light,” Jared Sanchez, of the California Bicycle Coalition, a sponsor of AB1238, said through email.
The bill would also eliminate all fines associated with jaywalking, some of which exceed $250 and are more burdensome for lowincome individuals.
The state Assembly is expected to begin debate on AB1238 in April.
Supporters of the legislation contend that jaywalking is arbitrarily enforced throughout California.
“Jaywalking laws do more than turn an ordinary and logical behavior into a crime. They also create opportunities for police to racially profile,” Sanchez said.
A September report from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area found that Black and Latino Californians received a higher number of citations for minor offenses like jaywalking or loitering compared to their white counterparts.
The report found that Black adults were up to 9.7 times more likely to be cited than white people. Latinos were up to 5.8 times more likely to be cited. The study analyzed nontraffic citations issued between July 2018 and December 2019 by California’s 15 largest law enforcement agencies, including San Francisco’s police department.
“We spend millions of dollars discriminatorily enforcing these nontraffic infraction laws against Black and Latinx people,” Elisa DellaPiana, the group’s legal director, said in a statement when the report was released. “The fines and fees are largely uncollectable, but the debt burden, warrants and arrests cause significant harm.”