The streets of Los Angeles are becoming more dangerous for city traffic officers.
Appalled by a growing increase in assaults against the 550 civilian employees who write parking tickets and direct traffic, city officials Monday endorsed state legislation to increase penalties for attackers.
Last week in Hollywood, for example, someone took a baseball bat to the windshield of a traffic enforcement officer's vehicle. Three other cars had their tires slashed. And one officer was pulled from his car and beaten with fists after an alleged assailant did not like the answer to a question he asked.
"This is just an indication of the intense violence our guys experience out there," said Jimmy Price, the city's chief of parking enforcement. "These kinds of situations traumatize our employees and make them reluctant to engage in their activities when they are in the field."
The number of assaults on traffic officers has increased steadily over the last five years, Price told a City Council panel.
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