footage posted to social media<\/a> shows. <\/p>\n\u201cLeave him alone, he\u2019s not doing anything wrong,\u201d a woman out of frame says.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re vandalizing city property without a permit so [I\u2019ll] ask y\u2019all nicely. Ya\u2019ll can record all you want, but back up or I will take everybody to jail,\u201d the officer cuffing Hale said.<\/p>\n
Hale was cited with a misdemeanor for vandalizing property. He has a court date for Jan. 5. <\/p>\n
The arrest marks the latest clash between the City of Los Angeles and civilian traffic safety advocates who are frustrated by the delays in getting street intersections painted and are taking it upon themselves to do the work they say can\u2019t wait. The tension comes as the city struggles to reduce pedestrian deaths.<\/p>\n
The mayor\u2019s office said in a Monday statement that it offered to collaborate with Hale, noting that it is \u201cwilling to work with any Angeleno who wants to make our streets safer\u201d and that it hopes to \u201cdevelop solutions to expedite the installation of crosswalks that meet legal and accessibility requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite communication about City, State, and Federal laws and parameters, Jonathan has chosen to continue to pursue his own course of action,\u201d the mayor\u2019s office said. \u201cMayor Bass is determined to ensure the safety and accessibility of streets and sidewalks for Angelenos, no matter how they bike, roll, walk or ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hale said he met with representatives from the mayor\u2019s office as well as from the Department of Transportation in September but there has been little follow-up. Since the meeting, however, he said he takes care to alert the mayor\u2019s office when he is planning an action, which he sees as a way to \u201cprotest for safer streets and a more effective government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hale\u2019s group, dubbed the People\u2019s Vision Zero, is a reference to the city\u2019s 10-year-old \u201cVision Zero\u201d plan <\/a>to eliminate traffic-related deaths by 2025. But a recent report found failures in the program.<\/p>\nHale said he wrote to the mayor\u2019s office Dec. 1, ahead of the Sunday action in Westwood, explaining that a pedestrian had been killed several years before at an intersection a block away. He posted fliers along the block and talked to neighbors to give them a heads-up. <\/p>\n
Hale said he requested marked crosswalks on Midvale Avenue in early October but no improvements had been made. There were too many potholes at that intersection for his group to paint a crosswalk so it chose the nearby intersection of Wilkins and Kelton avenues for Sunday\u2019s action instead. <\/p>\n
When police reopened the road midday, allowing cars to pass through, some of the still-wet paint was tracked by vehicle tires. It was a big disappointment to Hale, who said he tried to explain to officers that in another 20 minutes the paint would dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very frustrating. Our crosswalks are crisp. We take pride in sharp, well-defined corners,\u201d Hale said. \u201cPeople share their experiences or near-misses getting hit by cars while going on walks with their kids, or with their dogs. Those are the people we do this for.\u201d<\/p>\n