LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Lynnwood police officers are giving out warnings and tickets to pedestrians with the hope of saving lives.
In his 25 years with the Lynnwood Police Department, Sergeant Jason Valentine has done everything from SWAT to the gang unit to being a canine officer, but said he can do the most good as a traffic officer.
"In 2014, my brother in Indiana was killed by a person who was under the influence of meth and I saw the devastation it caused to his family and our family,” said Valentine.
Valentine's mission is to prevent that from happening to anyone else's family.
Last year in Lynnwood, 250 people were hurt in collisions. Of those, 44 of them were pedestrians.
“That’s significant. That's not acceptable here. We're trying to do everything we can to reduce those numbers,” said Lynnwood police Commander Wes Deppa.
In the first two and a half months of this year, there have been more than a dozen car-pedestrian collisions in Western Washington. Almost all of them were fatal for the pedestrian.
"There's responsibility on both sides. Often, drivers are the most dangerous because they're operating a vehicle, but at the same time, too, we want pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings at all times," said Deppa.
KIRO 7 reporter Joanna Small rode along with Valentine as he and others with the traffic division stopped pedestrians they observed violating the law.
Some people he contacted were not receptive, but others were, such as a man seen walking across the middle of the busy Highway 99, who thanked Valentine for looking out for him.
Officers said they would rather give warnings to violators, but Valentine said he will write a citation for jaywalking, as it’s far less costly than a life.
A distracted driving emphasis patrol for motorists begins later this week.
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