Run, don’t walk, to the nearest traffic court

Re “She Has World at Her Not-So-Fleet Feet,” April 14

Mayvis Coyle did not get a ticket for violating the law against not completely crossing an intersection before the traffic signal changed to “Don’t Walk.” There is no such law. She and the officer simply have a difference of opinion as to whether the signal already read “Don’t Walk” when she entered the intersection. Her situation is the same as that of a driver who receives a ticket for entering an intersection when the light was red but who claims the light was green at the time of entering the intersection. Such disputes are frequently contested in traffic court, where the matter belongs, instead of in headlines that may confuse a reader as to what the law is.

JOHN C. GUNN

Superior Court judge, retired

Northridge

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Our LAPD officers are shot at and assaulted by suspects all the time and they don’t get this much media coverage. The traffic officer who cited the 82-year-old woman most likely saved her life by making her think twice the next time she wants to cross against a traffic light. Just four days before, a senior citizen had been killed in the same area after committing the same violation that this woman was cited for. Where was the outrage?

The solution is outreach on pedestrian safety. The LAPD can’t do it alone, so City Council members should be proactive and make a concerted effort to do what they can in their districts to inform their constituents.

MONICA HARMON

Los Angeles

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That officer needs some remedial training. Surely there is a Boy Scout troop around somewhere that he can join for a couple of years until he picks up on the basics of little old ladies and crosswalks.

CLIFFORD SCHAFFER

Agua Dulce