SafeStop is proud to announce our official partnership with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department and the City of West Hollywood. Come join our movement to de-escalate traffic stops, adding a new tool to the community’s modern tool box. Download our app today@WHDLASD @WeHoCity pic.twitter.com/inlfd7AGI4
— Jackson (@SafeStopTraffic) September 20, 2023
When L.A. County Sheriff’s Department deputies pulls you over for a traffic violation, they won’t have to approach your vehicle immediately if you have a new app installed.
Now, when a deputy has pulled you over, you have the option of connecting with the deputy first through face-to-face video chat via SafeStop, a smart phone app best known for letting parents monitor their children’s school bus routes.
The department’s X page describes SafeStop as part of a “movement to de-escalate traffic stops, adding a new tool to the community’s modern tool box.” An accompanying video depicts a driver running a stop sign and being pulled over by a sheriff. The visibly anxious driver then opens the app, which connects him with the deputy, who introduces himself from a distance and puts the driver at ease before approaching his vehicle in person.
A study by Mapping Police Violence counted 1,176 civilian killings by police officers in 2022. Traffic stops are often charged with fear for many people, particularly marginalized groups such as Blacks who have faced discrimination from law enforcement, often for generations. SafeStop adds a buffer zone between officer and suspect intended to lower the temperature of the encounter, reducing fear and therefore danger.
SafeStop’s technology, however, would not have prevented the murder of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, who was shot at point-blank range in the head as he sat in his patrol car Saturday night outside the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station.
The man suspected in the fatal ambush shooting — whom relatives describe as mentally ill — was charged with murder today and has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Kevin Cataneo Salazar, 29, appeared in a Lancaster courtroom with his hands shackled to his hips, and he appeared to be wearing a bullet-proof vest. During the short arraignment hearing, a judge entered dual pleas on his behalf of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.
He is due back in court Nov. 7. Salazar remains jailed without bail at the Twin Towers jail in downtown Los Angeles after his arrest early Monday morning at his family’s home in Palmdale.
The murder charge against Salazar includes several special circumstance allegations, including murder of a peace officer, lying in wait and firing from a vehicle, along with an allegation of personal use of a firearm. The special circumstance allegations normally could open a defendant to a possible death sentence, but District Attorney George Gascón is a staunch opponent of the death penalty, meaning Salazar likely faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
If Salazar is convicted and determined to have been insane at the time of the killing, he would be confined to a state hospital rather than prison.
Salazar was arrested Monday morning following an hours-long standoff with law enforcement and a manhunt that began Saturday night, shortly after the slaying of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer near the department’s Palmdale station.
I am pro police but they have held WAAAAAY too much power over Americans for the last 100 years. Police and politicians DO NOT need nor should be granted immunity from violating the law.
So Now,Carjackers can talk to The West Hollywood Sheriff Department,through an App !
Classic or “old fashioned” policing is the best policy, easily understood and effective when activated.
The kind of people who escalate traffic stops into deadly force incidents are a one to one match with the set of people for whom this app will never be used
Just because you’re filled with self-loathing doesn’t mean you need to project that onto others. Get some help.
Let’s start with deporting disrespectful son of a bitches such as yourself. You are disgusting.
⬆️⬆️⬆️ 98.148.0.15
Brandon, what is the point of even publishing comments like the one above? You and Larry are allowed to have specific guidelines for hateful comments like that. Hate speech is NOT free speech.
The only time a traffic stop “escalates” is when you don’t do what the officer tells you or asks you to do or if you’re disrespectful or cop an attitude. It’s up to the driver how a traffic stop goes. If you do what a lot of us were taught to do – “hello officer, can I help you?” Provide driver’s license, registration and don’t argue (if you disagree with your ticket, take it up in court) you’ll be on your way in a few minutes. Driver’s actions determine how the stop goes. You can keep your app. 🙄
What will they think of next?
Who at the City is getting the financial kickback? Asking for a friend./s
I was taught as a young man that if I’m ever get stopped by the cops, keep your hands on the steering wheel and wait till the officer approaches the vehicle. At that point I will be told why I was stopped and what I need to do next.
Fumbling with your phone after a traffic stop seems risky. I’ll stick to the advice my mother gave me.
🎯🎯🎯
Officer always respond SUPER well when they’re behind you and see you reach for something on a stop instead of keeping hands on the wheel. SMH