Police officer dressed as bunny to arrest traffic violators

The large furry rabbit walking between Central and Garfield avenues on Wednesday was no hallucination, especially for drivers who failed to yield. For an hour and a half, Glendale Police Officer Tom Broadway donned the eye-catching costume during an enforcement sting aimed at educating motorists to yield for pedestrians walking along unmarked crosswalks.

Police cited 24 motorists on suspicion of failing to yield to Broadway as he walked across Central. “One of the violators said he was confused by it,” Sgt. Dennis Smith said. “He said he hopped in front of him.”

Police said the sting was about more than just enforcement, with officers also taking time to educate motorists.n“We are not here to create violations,” Lt. Gary Montecuollo said. “Quite frankly, we would be happy if everybody stopped. The idea is to generate a knowledge of safety for the pedestrian.”



Most of the officers participating in the operation were wearing their uniforms, except Broadway. Officers were also waiting on their motorcycles along Central. “The bottom line is that we want to make people safe, and if by giving them a ticket that reinforces the need to be safe, then ultimately we have accomplished the objective to try to keep our pedestrians and our city safe,” Montecuollo said.

But the operation infuriated Councilman John Drayman, who said he learned of the sting only after it had taken place. Calling the enforcement sting a “stupid traffic stunt” that was “breathtakingly dangerous,” Drayman said city resources would have been more appropriately used to clamp down on speeding motorists — an issue that prompts daily complaints from the public.

“The police may be experts in public safety, but they don’t have a padlock on common sense,” he said. “This is not law enforcement, this is taking public safety personnel, dressing them as bunny rabbits to confuse, disorient and shock drivers and then cite them with traffic tickets.”