Baltimore City Police (BPD) officers have been actively issuing warnings and, in some cases, fines, for jaywalking near the intersection of St. Paul and 33rd Streets.
Baltimore City Police (BPD) officers have been actively issuing warnings and, in some cases, fines, for jaywalking near the intersection of St. Paul and 33rd Streets.
Several students posted complaints on Facebook and Yik Yak that they received tickets from BPD officers over the course of last week.
Junior Dilara Ertenu, a psychology major, received a warning from a BPD officer on Monday.
“I was nervous at first when I was told to walk over to the officer and take out my ID, but he said, ‘Save your money and follow the law,’” Ertenu said.
Freshman Rachel Huselid also received a warning from a BPD officer. In an email to The News-Letter, she wrote that a police officerwaved her down after she crossed the street in the afternoon.
“Most people just kept going but me and one other person stopped,” Huselid wrote. “He gave us a little lecture about following pedestrian rules and took my information from my driver’s license.”
Huselid wrote that many other students were also jaywalking that day.
“I was pretty annoyed at first because there were clearly other people jaywalking that weren’t getting ticketed,” Huselid wrote.
She added that she was surprised at being stopped by a police officer because jaywalking around campus is common.
“I’ve never been talked to about it before,” Huselid wrote.
Huselid received a notice from the BPD officer, which stated that jaywalking carries a fine of $50 to $500; however, the notice was simply an informational pamphlet.
Freshman Wen Wen Teh also received a warning and a lecture about traffic safety.
“[The officer] said to be careful and [that] they want to prevent accidents,” Teh said.
Some students said that they were unaware that crossing the street, even when no moving cars are present, is still considered jaywalking. Freshman Juliet Villegas has not been pulled aside by BPD officers, but she said she was unaware that the law existed under those conditions.
“Personally, I feel that Baltimore police issuing tickets for jaywalking is absolutely absurd,” Villegas said. “They’re targeting college students who are in a rush to get to classes, meetings, events or possibly just wanting to go home. Baltimore police should be working on keeping the streets of Baltimore safe, not harassing college students in a hurry.”
Freshman Angad Uppal expressed similar dissatisfaction with the Baltimore Police.
“I believe that Baltimore City Police has far worse issues and offenders of the laws that they should be putting their time towards instead of harmless college students,” he said. “I do understand why they’re here — to keep us safe. And they’re just doing their job, but they could be doing better things with their time.”
Lt. Stephen Moffett, crime prevention and event security coordinator for Hopkins Campus Safety and Security, wrote in an email to The News-Letter that BPD is exercising more vigilance due to the commencement of construction on St. Paul Street between 32nd and 33rd Streets.
“In the past, police have utilized enforcement at other times during the year to get pedestrians’ attentions,” Moffett wrote. “All too often, pedestrians are seen distracted with phones, iPods or wearing ear buds when crossing the busy intersection of 33rd and St. Paul, as well as other streets near campus.”
Historically, police have also ticketed and given warnings to students to ensure that students understand road safety, a concept that is also stressed during freshmen orientation.
“The streets can be dangerous enough due to inattentive drivers,” Moffett wrote. “During our Freshman Neighborhood Safety Walks in the fall, we always stress the importance of traffic safety. It is my understanding that freshman take a ‘Roads Scholar Pledge’ during the orientation process.”
Several collisions occurred on the streets around Homewood in the recent past. In the summer of 2011, then-sophomore Ben Zucker and then-freshman Rachel Cohen were seriously injured by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run accident at St. Paul and 33rd Streets. Earlier that year, Nathan Krasnopoler suffered severe brain damage after a car hit his bike, and, in 2009, Miriam Frankl was killed by a drunk driver when she tried to cross St. Paul Street.
Moffett recommended that students check the campus safety Facebook page for more tips.
BPD representatives did not respond for comment before the press deadline.
