California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) did not order police to enforce traffic violations harshly within the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades, according to a spokesman on Sunday, despite claims to the contrary.
“Nope,” a spokesman said, after Breitbart News asked: “Is it true, or is it not true, that the governor‘s office has directed the highway patrol to be more aggressive in enforcing traffic laws against otherwise law-abiding residents on empty streets?”
Residents of the Pacific Palisades have been shocked and irritated to find themselves being pulled over for a series of minor infractions, including rolling through flashing red lights and exceeding new, low speed limits.
Breitbart News witnessed one driver pulled over on Sunday for allegedly rolling through a flashing red — moments after police had waved all drivers through a similarly flashing red light at another intersection.
Many residents visiting their property have been pulled over multiple times, even though the area is essentially empty. A local Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer said that enforcement had been tightened following concerns by residents and contractors that some drivers were behaving recklessly.
However, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer on Sunday said: “The governor is forcing us to do this.”
The Pacific Palisades has largely been closed off to the public since the Palisades Fire destroyed much of the town, and over 23,000 acres overall, on January 7. California National Guard troops had, until recently, assisted local police and the CHP in patrolling for looters. But lately, the focus of law enforcement has been otherwise law-abiding residents, rather than looters, as traffic enforcement has reached draconian levels.
Some residents suspect that the cash-strapped city and state are attempting to replace lost tax revenues, or that officials are trying to harass residents enough so that they leave and sell their property to developers.
The Pacific Coast Highway near the Palisades was reopened on Friday, ahead of the holiday weekend, albeit with lower speed limits and speed bumps in places.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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