The past fortnight has seen one fire-ravaged motor vehicle, one crushed USPS letter box, two seriously damaged busses—and one hideously mangled fatality. The carnage has occurred in a close area, and eyewitnesses to both collisions have been steadfast in their assertion that the Metro line 4 and LADOT DASH line B ran red lights before ruining lives as well as public and private property.
Nevertheless, Pershing Square, which is immediately adjacent to where the Metro collision occurred and three blocks from where the DASH killed a pedestrian, remains a staging area for L.A. County Sheriffs and LAPD to carry out revenue stings and harassment aimed not at Metro and LADOT, but the private citizens being mowed down by the two mass transit agencies. And don't get me started about the LADOT meter maids using Pershing Square to park their metermaid mobiles during rush hour to do some discount clothes-shopping.
On Friday, 09 January, I spent some time watching the small group of useless sheriff's deputies deterring terrorists, keeping the jewelry thieves at bay and—oh, wait, that's the list of things that rarely occur during the few hours these deputised dipshits are present. No, they were hanging out, drinking coffee, playing with their mobile telephones—and shaking down private motorists for cash after having been awarded $16 MILLION for a three-month protection racket contract extension courtesy of Metro.
The LAPD were concerned with even less, seeing as private motorists ran red lights while their officers harassed pedestrians.
LAPD_PestersPedestrian_09jan2009
Video sent by shametrainla
What the hell is going on here, and why do these two constabulary agencies continue to be so blatant in their extortive endeavours? People are dying, property is being destroyed and all one can do is wait for the next incident. One can only imagine that far more scrutiny will continue to be deployed against those who deem it necessary to watch the watchers, than for the watchers to make sure the streets are made safe in the way that is promised—when what is simply desired is a widespread and effective mass transit system that is more concerned with efficiency than revenue collection.
-BusTard
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