State assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, on Wednesday announced he’s proposed legislation to decriminalize jaywalking, which he said, is often arbitrarily enforced and disproportionately affects people of color.
Assembly Bill 2147, The Freedom to Walk Act, would decriminalize jaywalking when the roadway is clear to cross.
The bill, authored by Ting, is the assemblyman’s second attempt to decriminalize jaywalking in California. In March 2021, Ting introduced the similar AB 1238, but the bill was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Instead of repealing the state’s jaywalking laws, the new bill would instead clarify an officer can only approach a pedestrian for jaywalking when there is immediate danger of a collision, according to Ting’s office.
“It’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians, especially when we are trying to encourage people to get out of their cars and walk more for health and environmental reasons,” Ting said during a briefing.
In addition to clarifying protocols for jaywalking stops by police, Ting’s proposed bill would also legalize crossing outside of crosswalks or against traffic lights when safe, thus eliminating fines.
According to Ting, jaywalking citations are often times disproportionality given to low-income people and people of color, resulting in fines totaling hundreds of dollars. Jaywalking citations are also sometimes used as a pretext by law enforcement to stop people of color, Ting said.
Ting cited recent cases where jaywalking citations involving Black people resulted in tragedies, including the 2020 fatal shooting of Kurt Reinhold by Orange County deputies during a confrontation over jaywalking; the 2018 death of Chinedu Okobi after being tased by Millbrae police for allegedly jaywalking; and the 2017 beating of Nandi Cain by Sacramento police after they accused Cain of jaywalking.
According to data from the California Racial and Identity Profiling Act, Black Californians are up to four and a half times more likely to be stopped for jaywalking than their white counterparts.
“These laws are not only discriminatory, but also lead to harmful – and, in some cases, deadly — encounters with police,” Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area Equal Justice Works Fellow Rio Scharf said. “It’s time to finally decriminalize walking.”
69 comments
Maybe there is a correlation between the frequency a person violates jaywalking, and the frequency where an officer contacts them for said violation?
It’s not about race, it’s about character.
Truer words were never spoken
Yes! “SOME TING” really wong about this guy.
What is this clown thinking?
He’s a San Francisco Democrat. Thinking is racist misogynist homophobic and anti-science. I’m waiting for him to try to overturn the Laws of Physics.
Some Ting wrong
The score
cars 1 jaywalkers 0
cars 2 jaywalkers 0
cars 3 jaywalkers 0
cars 4 jaywalkers 0
cars 5 jaywalkers 0
There’s a reason jaywalking is illegal.
Glad to see Mr. Ting has his priorities straight.
If the state will decriminalize hitting/running over pedestrians not in a crosswalk, and let the driver sue the pedestrian for damages, then I am OK with Mad Max Motoring.
Mr. The-Troll – When a motor vehicle with right of way collides with a pedestrian who does not, the pedestrian is typically presumed at fault. That means the owner or occupants of the vehicle can sue the errant pedestrian for negligence and will typically prevail and recover a damages award. This legislation would not and should not change that.
Of course, practicalities often belie the law. Indeed, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there is an inverse correlation between those with a propensity to jaywalk in traffic and those with the financial means to satisfy a civil judgment. People with poor risk assessment in one area of life (e.g., pedestrians who don’t learn to look both ways before crossing the street or do but incorrectly assume that oncoming drivers will see them and yield) typically struggle to accumulate substantial assets or procure adequate personal liability insurance coverage. Further, at fault, injured pedestrians have far more urgent concerns than defending your lawsuit.
Alas, this legislation will not and cannot change that, either.
OMG, says jaywalking is discriminatory…Ting’s previous bill was vetoed but he’s still trying. Such an important issue, NOT!
“These laws are not only discriminatory, but also lead to harmful – and, in some cases, deadly — encounters with police,” Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area Equal Justice Works Fellow Rio Scharf said. “It’s time to finally decriminalize walking.”
I believe it affects minorities more as it appears they are more likely to jaywalk. At least that has been my observation.
More BS from the left.
+1
Please do not blame this sort of nonsense on “The Left”.
The legislator is bat manure crazy/stupid.
In San Jose people are getting killed in crosswalks. If they jaywalk it will be mass murder. Maybe the assemblyman can walk around with a sign that says, “Obey the law and the police won’t kill you”.
I’m guessing this will lead to some number of deaths and injury by encouraging jaywalking in busy downtown areas where drivers already have too many distractions. It does serve the purpose of Ting getting cheap publicity wrapping it up with an appeal to race and equity for the common sense challenged San Francisco voters.
How about we decriminalize running red lights, too?
You know, maybe we shuld just decriminalize everything. A simple lawless society might clera out the riff raff … and then the rest of us can go back and be law abiding.
TBH, not surprised .. It is coming from San Francisco. SF was once a place that people wanted to travel too, to visit, to enjoy, to live … and now it is a sesspool. Anything that comes out of SF is suspect … and anything that is presented by a politician from SF should be treated as unreliable until proven otherwise.
My old Army Reserve buddy Robert Wong was from SF; and he once told me: “You have to be really careful when using the SF phone book, because you might ‘Wing da Wong Number’.
Every time I see a jaywalker, it’s a Hispanic, or a homeless, and they are usually women. Pedestrians aren’t required to carry insurance, so who will pay for the damage to my car if I hit a jaywalker?
Are we actually eliminating safety regulations now because one race cannot comply? What’s next? Maybe we should eliminate red lights, stop signs, and speed limits as well.
When someone is told “How stupid can you get?” Many will take it as a challenge.
This challenge was obviously accepted.
Here is a novel idea….
DON’T JAYWALK !
Legal or not it is not in your best interest!
Gheeze !!!
Getting rid of jaywalkers one way or the other. This way the Police won’t get blamed when they’re hit and killed. Reduce the population of lawbreakers through attrition. Brilliant! A sort of back-handed approach to the problem, but if it works we should see an overall reduction of crime of every sort. Just be especially careful not to hit one of these clowns yourself.
In THEORY I actually agree…I mean not with the bedwetting “POC” race card BS, but from the standpoint that yeah, crossing the street when there’s practically zero risk should not be a ticketable “offense”. However, as I fully understand this necessitates having half a brain and shred of common sense, “gifts” that are in extreme short supply, it may not have the best results.
Why is everything about race?
I don’t think everything is about race, anyone that have lived in New York knows it is also a New York thing. I’m not suggesting that it is not dangerous, and I don’t suggest making a habit out of it. However, if it is 4 in the morning and there is no car in sight, I think most people would probably jay walk. However, I have had the experience here a couple of times the last few months, someone all of sudden stepping off the curb, it is night, and they are wearing dark clothing, it was on Contra Costa Blvd. That is dangerous and scary for those of us driving. At the Stanford Shopping Center someone came out of the parking garage very fast, and hit a pedestrian, who by the way was in the crosswalk, the driver was at fault. She became so hysterical she was also attended to by the emergency people and taking to the hospital as well. I was never able to find out what happen to the guy that was hit, he was under the car and lifeless.
Save your silly lectures for the author of this bill. Phil Ting baked the racism right into the bill. But that’s what liberal do.
So we just increase the amount of auto vs pedestrian MVAs. Auto wins every time BTW.
How about putting the effort in getting rid of the scum on the city streets. Seems that is a better priority than worrying about jaywalkers.
Darwin is waiting at the Pearly Gates with a sign which reads, “I told you so!”. Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein will just be grinning and shaking their heads.
Then add a hold harmless clause to the bill to protect the victims. Now that obviously the victims will be the motorist who run over these thrill-seeking pedestrians .
They should also indemnify street cars, locomotives, and of course the beloved gene pool know as cyclists. Buttigieg should be proud.
You do realize that, in the state of California, the combined numbers of more darkly-skinned races outnumbers Caucasians. Each individual (regardless of color) makes his/her own decision as to whether to obey signal lights… and common sense regarding signal-free crosswalks! The percentages of enforcement and/or accident incidents will reflect reality; and our recognizing that fact has NOTHING to do with “racism”.
Highly doubtful the three individuals they mentioned in the article were ONLY shot, tased, beaten, etc. due to the fact they were jaywalking. I looked up the cases. All 3 individuals resisted arrest before the situation escalated. Instead of decriminalizing jaywalking, maybe people can work on just…not resisting arrest??
Reinhold: “They reportedly tried to detain Reinhold on suspicion of jaywalking, but he ignored their command and began walking into the street. The two deputies tried to direct Reinhold back onto the sidewalk. They got into a tussle, with Duran tackling Reinhold – and Reinhold somehow landing on Israel. The report said Reinhold grabbed Israel’s gun and Duran then shot Reinhold.” – The Orange County Register
Okobi: According to the San Mateo County DA investigation, he ran from 2 officers when they tried to confront him after walking in traffic, then resisted arrest with 5 officers trying to restrain him, they then tasered him multiple times and peppersprayed him because he continued resisting arrest.
Cain: “Nandi Cain Jr. was caught on camera walking away from police after allegedly jaywalking. Video shows Cain ignoring the officer’s commands to stop and then challenging the officer to a fight before he was punched.” – ABC30
Wait ..
They actually resisted arrest … nah, could not happen that way. I mean, if that were true Mr.Ting would never bring his law to a vote …
/sarcasm off/
I had no doubt that these fools resisted arrest before they were shot, tazed or beaten. If you resist, you will be hurt. Seems simple …
I see jaywalkers everyday on Clayton Road however I don’t remember seeing any Black People.
Gets interesting when you look at bills he’s introduced,
https://tinyurl.com/yckwex2a
Use to search for bills or see what your public servant has introduced.
https://tinyurl.com/2p8z7nvy
state legislature needs your adult supervision !
.
“… disproportionately affects people of color.”
.
This is just another example of “wokeism”.
.
Perhaps people of color are less likely to observe laws?
.
Not much else to work on, Phil? After you address this pressing issue, focus on getting rid of speed limits, turn signal use, lane maintenance, and all the other pesky public safety measures that protect people. Then you can get lead back in our paints and gasoline, dioxin in our water, and cigarettes back in planes and restaurants. I see Ting played the race card. What a tool!
encourage pedestrian fatalities. It’s the right thing to do Clown Alley California.
The sample placebo vaccine has really taken a toll on a lot of brains!
It looks bad to him when shop lifters get less of a fine than the jaywalkers. Have to cover it
How about this law: anytime any public servant at any level references statistics, they are legally required to post the source in its entirety. It must not be behind any paywall and must disclose the methods used to get that data, the source of the data, the time period the data was pulled from etc etc..so it can be audited by the public to determine if it is even compiled correctly.
Getting stats that reflect reality is very, very hard yet I see these politicians always referencing data without providing their source. They are also not statisticians, so excuse me if I seriously doubt they’re competent enough to gather their own data correctly.
Politicians are competent enough to lie with statistics; all they need to do is include a couple of outliers to skew the data. Or only use bits and pieces of the data so it will mirror their ideologies, and then they can say look at the data. They follow the data like they follow the science.
At least as long as I’ve been paying attention (decades), San Francisco has been trying to figure out how to keep so many pedestrians from getting killed. I don’t see how this would help those efforts.
Maybe that is their real intent—one more way to help with depopulation. You know, like giving kids opposite sex hormones, they won’t be able to reproduce. And promoting homosexuality, no reproduction happening there either. =)
I don’t believe I have ever seen anyone sited for jaywalking…and I’m no youngster.
Years ago, I jaywalked across the street in front of a cop that was on the same side of the street as I was. When the cop saw me jaywalk, he called me over, so I jaywalked across the street again to see what he wanted. He said he was going to give me a warning for jaywalking, but since I jaywalked again when he called me over, he decided to ticket me for jaywalking twice. I was a youngster at the time and didn’t even think about getting a ticket for jaywalking…oh well.
Sausalito police were famous for ticketing jaywalkers.
I would love to see the stats on the number of people who were hit/killed by vehicles last year in our state in both crosswalks and outside of them.
How difficult is it to just walk 50 yards to a crosswalk? Yeah, it might be inconvenient but that’s life. “But I was in a hurry.” Then plan your time better!
We have all jaywalked at one point in our life. Most of us don’t make it a habit. Eventually, every chronic jaywalker will either be arrested/ticketed or hit. If you choose to play Frogger and you experience either outcome, then that’s your choice and you deal with the consequences. Making jaywalking legal is a recipe for disaster.
The youngsters won’t have a clue about your Frogger reference. I love it.
At this rate, there will be nothing illegal in this joke of a State…
+1
So does this mean if I Jay walk and get hit by a car , I can sue the driver and win? Or if people want to do the scam where they act like they got hit and want money, easier for them?
Just like Frank on Shameless.
ridiculous… you’ll see more pedestrians hurt & worse if this passes
This is almost unbelievably dumb….THIS is an important issue?!?
And in other breaking news a 37-year-old homemaker in Clayton reportedly spilled some milk on her kitchen counter.
“It was a really messy spill,” the woman told reports who gathered outside her residence.
No injuries were reported.
The FBI stats indicate roughly half the arrests for rapes, armed robberies and murders are blacks .Funny I never hear any legislator suggesting the disproportionate arrest rates should mean we should decriminalize rape.
robbery and murder.
That will be next. The Demoncrat lawmakers are already putting men in women’s prisons because that is the woke thing to do these days. But where is the equity in that? I have not heard of them putting women who identify as men in men’s prison, which would be equitable. I think I will protest about that inequity.
You might want to do some research on that last sentence.
Under Prop 57 more than 20 clearly violent crimes aren’t classified as violent, including rape of an unconscious person, trafficking a child for prostitution, assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence.
You can pimp a child for sex, beat a spouse or rape a person who passes out at a frat party, and it’s not considered a violent offense under state law.
Senate Bill 82, authored by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), would turn robberies under $950 that don’t involve weapons or cause serious injuries into petty thefts – March 15, 2021. Right now a robbery is committed if the property is taken from a person by means of force or fear and is a hard Felony.
Do you remember AB 1509 by that great Assembly Member Lee? Existing law imposes a sentence enhancement in the state prison of 10 years for personally using a firearm in the commission of specified felonies, 20 years for personally and intentionally discharging a firearm in the commission of those felonies, and 25 years to life for personally and intentionally discharging a firearm and causing great bodily injury or death to any other person during the commission of those felonies.
This bill would reduce those enhancements to 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively.
I’m sure at some point someone in the California legislature will get around to writing a bill to reducing the penalty for murder. Just wait.
Where does this information of black Californians being four and a half times more likely to get stopped for jaywalking? How is this information collected? It sounds like pure bull5h1t to me.
I have an idea, don’t jaywalk. Problem solved.
Not everything is racist. Math, for example, is not racist.
And neither are facts, but they don’t care about your feelings.
Ummmm, I love feel good laws and all but physics will win everytime… regardless who was “right”, and I can’t believe it was just people of color used here. Think about the children that can or will be impacted too with this masterpiece of legislation
I do not see what is so difficult about j-walking. You would have to put in a real effort to get hit.
I think what we are seeing here is the decline and fall of Western Civilization … one small law at a time.
@ Martinezmike
You can’t make this crap up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1JYHNX8pdo
Maybe we can make ‘littering illegal’ too………..
Hey Duck! That was the FUNNIEST moment on television for a long time. It went super-VIRAL for weeks all over the country. Thanks for the memory.
I’m tired of the Government and media treating people of color like they are stupid and helpless, because they aren’t. It is extremely demeaning. Really Phil do you think people of color don’t know how to cross the street legally so you need to protect them? Take something that rarely happens, make it seem like a major happening, and then take credit for fixing some minor as if it is a major problem.
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