Jonathan Hale and a dozen other activists were painting a third crosswalk at an intersection in Westwood on Sunday when two police cars pulled up.
Video posted on social media showed LAPD officers asking the group to stop painting and handcuffing Hale.
“Leave him alone, he didn’t do anything wrong,” said a woman off-screen.
“You destroyed city property without a permit, so [I’ll] Ask everyone carefully. You can record everything you want, but back it up or I’m going to send everyone to jail,” said the officer who handcuffed Hale.
Hale was charged with misdemeanor destruction of property. His court date is January 5.
The arrest marks the latest clash between the city of Los Angeles and civilian traffic safety advocates, who are frustrated by delays in painting street intersections and are starting work they say can’t wait. The tensions come as the city works to reduce pedestrian deaths.
The mayor’s office said in a statement on Monday that it is willing to work with Hale, noting that it is “willing to work with any Angeleno who wants to make our streets safer” and hopes to “develop solutions to expedite the installation of crosswalks that meet legal and accessibility requirements.”
“Despite communication regarding city, state and federal laws and parameters, Jonathan has chosen to proceed with his course of action,” the mayor’s office said. “Mayor Bass is determined to ensure the safety and accessibility of streets and sidewalks for Angelenos, no matter how they bike, roll, walk or ride.”
Hale said he met with representatives from the mayor’s office and the Department of Transportation in September but had little follow-up. Since the meeting, however, he said he is careful to alert the mayor’s office when he plans to take action, which he sees as a way to “protest for safer streets and more effective government.”
Hale’s organization is called People’s Vision Zero, a reference to the city’s 10-year Vision Zero plan, which aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths by 2025. But a recent report found flaws in the plan.
Hale said he wrote to the mayor’s office on Dec. 1 before Westwood Sunday’s actions, explaining that a pedestrian was killed in an intersection a block away several years ago. He posted fliers along the block and talked to neighbors to alert them.
Hale said he requested a visible crosswalk on Meadville Avenue in early October, but no improvements were made. The intersection had too many potholes for his team to map a crosswalk, so the nearby intersection of Wilkins Avenue and Kelton Avenue was chosen for Sunday’s operation.
When police reopened the road at noon and allowed cars to pass, some of the still-wet paint was marked by vehicle tires. This frustrated Hale, who said he tried to explain to the officer that the paint would dry in another 20 minutes.
“It’s very frustrating. Our crosswalks are clean. We pride ourselves on sharp, well-defined corners,” Hale said. “People share their experiences of being hit by a car or nearly getting hit while walking with their children or dogs. We do this for those people.”
