The Operation Was Successful, The Patient Is Dead: The clash between anti law enforcement and pro public safety movements.

Authorities sound alarms over massive Portland street takeover event planned for this weekend

Shouldn't the Authorities Warn those planning the takeover won't happen?

The Operation Was Successful, The Patient Is Dead: The clash between anti law enforcement and pro public 

It's axiomatic, shun law enforcement and fatalities quickly follow

Should authorities no announce the threatened takeover won't happen?

The Anti-Law Enforcement Movement and the Traffic Accidents are Preventable Movements.

The anti-law enforcement movement, also known as police abolition movement is a movement, that advocates replacing policing with other systems of public safety. Police abolitionists believe that policing, as a system, is inherently flawed and cannot be reformed. It began as early as 2000 increasing in intensity during the Ferguson riots but gained strength in 2020 during the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and the protests surrounding it.

At about the same time, independent of the anti-law enforcement movement was the recognition that for too long, traffic deaths and severe injuries, referred to as 'accidents' were the cost of modern life. But the reality is that these tragedies were preventable by taking a proactive, preventative approach that prioritizes traffic safety as a public health issue. This movement was known as Vision Zero.

The Anti-Law Enforcement Movement is Born - Three Dead People Paid the Price 

As early as 2005, the Coto de Caza’s CZ Master Association’s leadership's approach to public safety led to the first traffic fatality in the community, followed by one more three months later, the third one in January 2014, and multiple near misses a few weeks

Fifteen year-old Rhianna Woolsey died December 7, 2005 in the first traffic fatality in Coto de Caza in the previous ten years. Three months later, 75-year old Mr. Morteza Manian was struck by a teen age female, while he was riding his bicycle. Mr. Manian was transported to Mission Regional Hospital, and succumbed to his injuries in the late hours of March 12, 2006. The teen driver was eventually arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run and resisting and delaying or obstructing an officer.

With two tragic deaths during a time period when there was no law enforcement presence and in the middle of a very serious lawsuit over an accident, the president of the local governance continued his anti-law enforcement attitude, calling the law enforcement agency, 'extortionist.'

A third traffic fatality in the community was registered on January 2014, right after the CZ board of directors fired the CHP for pro-active traffic patrol.

Off To The Races

As the The anti-law enforcement movement was taking shape, New York City was one of the first cities in America to adopt the Accidents are Preventable mantra, known as as Vision Zero. Other cities abd states followed, including Washington state and the City of Portland Oregon.  Washington state’s dubbed its program Target Zero, patterned after Vision Zero with the goal to reduce the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries on Washington’s roadways to zero by the year 2030.  And the program seemed to be working:  it made significant progress noting that while deaths and serious injuries from impaired driving both declined by 15 percent during 2009-2011 compared with 2006-2008, impaired driving continues to be the main factor in fatal collisions in Washington. 

The decline in traffic accidents was then attributed to aggressive campaigns to change the public perception of the acceptability and consequences of drinking and driving, coupled with tougher laws, including the 2007 felony DUI law, and strict penalties imposed for drivers under age 21 who drink and drive. “Despite these efforts, impaired driving remains a challenging issue for both Washington and the nation” –WTSC impaired driving strategic plan. 

The Persuit of Equity Over Public Safety 

Then the pursuit of equity over public safety got in the way and the wheels came off. All the gains made through Target Zero were reversed by the anti-law enforcement movement.

NYC just recorded 60 traffic deaths in the 1st quarter of 2024, the most since Vision Zero began! According to Stephen Nessen new report finds that New York City recorded 60 traffic deaths during the first three months of 2024, marking the deadliest start to a calendar year under the city’s Vision Zero program, which launched a decade ago with the goal of improving street safety. So what happened to the public safety Paradigm Shift? Tiffany-Ann Taylor, vice president for transportation at the Regional Plan Association, called the statistics “jarring,” and blamed the problem on racism, engineering and 'investment.' “Continued investment and prioritization of bicycle lane infrastructure that properly protects cyclists is essential to improving the public health of vulnerable roadway users and something that we have long called for, especially in Queens, where cyclists of color face increased risks,” she wrote in a statement.


NYC is not alone, Traffic deaths in Washington state hit 33-year high in 2023 with 810 traffic fatalities last year, a 10% increase from 2022. Like Taylor, Washingon state's WTSC director Shelly Baldwin doesn't take any responsibility for contributing to the problem. But as opposed to Taylir, she blames the drivers and ask .." drivers to take the actions we know save lives. Drive sober. Be patient. Stay focused. Buckle up.”


The  City of Portland’s  Portland Bureau of Transportation, like Washington’s WTSC, adopted a Vision Zero program: “No person should die or be incapacitated from simply going about their day. - PBOT

Yet Portland's culture tells a completely different story and why today, authorities sound alarms over massive Portland street takeover event planned for this weekend

And the Beat Goes On

In 2019, California reported a motor vehicle fatality rate of 5.3 deaths per 100,000 people, slightly higher than the national average of 4.4. Injury collisions reported in California increased by an estimated 16% from 2018 to 2019 alone.

In Oregon, from 2013 to 2021, the number of traffic fatalities increased dramatically and has remained high.From 2013 to 2023 Oregon's number of traffic fatalities increased 88 percent and its fatality rate increased 70 percent.

What's worse: Depraved Indifference or Ignorance is Bliss?

Whether it's NYC, California. Washington state or the City of Portland, elected officials know that accidents are preventable by taking a proactive, preventative approach that prioritizes traffic safety as a public health issue. They know that the significant loss of life exacts a tragic toll, extending beyond personal loss to deep community impacts, including: personal economic costs and emotional trauma to those suffering; and significant taxpayer spending on emergency response and long-term healthcare costs. And because so many fear for their safety on our streets, there is no true freedom of mobility, and, as a result, we compromise our public health with increasing rates of sedentary diseases.

Sadly, just today, Portland authorities sound alarms over massive Portland street takeover event planned for this weekend. Should the authorities not be warning those planning the takeover that they won't?

Then there's Portland's little sister, the

City of Camas.  The Camas Police Chief, alumni of the Portland PD, says Camas has proactive law enforcement. Yet, around the Woodburn Elementary School community there's been six accidents in the past five years.  The dog catcher is regularly visible.  Not so law enforcement. And it gets better: the city's engineering department says that despite DUI-related accidents, the roads are functioning as designed and there's nothing else it can do.  

The Camas City Council Full of Equity & Fury,  Sygnifying No Concern for Public Safety 

 

The city's engineering manager, nor City Administrator know about Vision Job and the City Council has Commission for everything, including Equity, but not Public Safety. Unlike the City of Vancouver, it's next door neighbor Camas has decided to follow Washington state's lead in the Inequity of the pursuit of equity over public safety. Instead of CamasSafe, it has chosen UnSafe Camas.

We fought the Law and the Law Lost and so did We.

Everywhere you look, it's clear that the pursuit of Equity takes precedence over public safety, while everybody loses: Because so many fear for their safety on our streets, there is no true freedom of mobility, and, as a result, we compromise our public health with increasing rates of sedentary diseases.

RELATED

Transportation Alternatives comes up with Five Lessons for the 10-Year Anniversary of Vision Zero in New York City.  A Look at the Successes and Shortcomings of America’s First Vision Zero Program

And still pushes the Inequity of the Pursuit of Equity Over Public Safety