A California state lawmaker is attempting to repeal his state’s jaywalking law, saying it is enforced more upon minorities and low-income people.
Assemblyman Phil Ting on Thursday introduced the Freedom to Walk Act, which would decriminalize jaywalking across California and eliminate all fines associated with the crime, some of which are ticketed at over $250.
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“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.”
Ting’s bill would make it lawful to cross a street outside of a crosswalk or against a traffic light when it doesn’t cause an immediate hazard. Lawmakers are working with law enforcement to determine what would be considered an immediate hazard.
Lawmakers also pointed to the encounter of Chinedu Okobi, who died while being tazed and struck with batons by San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies after allegedly jaywalking in October 2018. Decriminalizing jaywalking could help prevent these types of incidents, supporters of the bill said.
Black and Latino Californians received a higher number of citations for minor offenses, including jaywalking, than white people, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area found in a September 2020 report.
Black adults in California are up to 9.7 times more likely to receive a citation for local infractions than white Californians, according to the report.
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Jared Sanchez of the California Bicycle Coalition, which is sponsoring the bill, said he hopes to alleviate the discrepancies in racial profiling.
“Jaywalking laws do more than turn an ordinary and logical behavior into a crime,” Sanchez said. “They also create opportunities for police to racially profile.”
