SAN DIEGO — Dozens of MTS officers conducted a special enforcement detail this week at the 32nd Street trolley station in Logan Heights.
The purpose of the sweep was to check passengers for fare violations. Some passengers reported being detained for other purposes.
Wednesday night’s sweep included MTS, SDPD and private security officers. MTS conducts special enforcement details 2 to 3 times per month at different San Diego trolley stations.
CBS 8 was on scene as officers were writing infraction citations and questioning passengers. Others were detained and told CBS they were being checked for warrants.
“It’s crazy. I guess they're going to catch a lot of people, but it's kind of crazy that there's that much force,” said one man, who did not want to give his full name.
CBS 8 reached out to MTS to ask about the number of arrests and citations issued at the Logan Heights station, but no specific information was released.
Instead, MTS emailed CBS 8 the following statement:
“MTS partners with local law enforcement 2-3 times per month to conduct Special Enforcement Details (SEDs) on the Trolley system. It’s a routine operation that last a few hours at a specific Trolley station. The purpose of the detail is to show high visibility and conduct a 100% fare inspection of each train that enters the station. The goal is to increase safety and create a deterrence of criminal activity while educating passengers on the fare structure, collecting data on fare evasion levels, and providing outreach resources to those in need.”
Civil rights attorney Eugene Iredale looked at some of the footage from the operation. He had concerns about passengers being detained.
“They are entitled to say, 'Stop for a second, show us your ticket.' And if the person displays the ticket, they should be permitted to go on their way without further hindrance. If they continue to be detained to allow for computer search for warrants, that's an illegal or an unlawful detention,” said Iredale.
The attorney noted if a passenger ends up receiving a citation for not having a ticket, officers are allowed to ask for identification. Still, the length of detention needs to be brief, according to Iredale.
“They may run that person's name to see if there are outstanding warrants, but only if It does not result in a substantially greater length of the detention that would otherwise be required to issue the citation,” he said. “So you can hold a person, probably, for an additional five minutes but not for an additional 15.”
Iredale also questioned the need for up to 30 officers to conduct these types of sweeps. “It seems to me to be a terrible waste of public resources, and indeed an act of cruelty to punish people for poverty by these sorts of public demonstrations of overwhelming force to hassle the homeless,” Iredale said.
MTS provided statistics from enforcement operations in the last quarter of 2023. The agency said six operations were conducted between September and December 2023 where 3,278 trolley patrons were contacted and 32 persons were arrested. During that time period, MTS said it found a 31.8 percent evasion rate.
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