Marquise Harris-Dawson recently found himself in a tricky situation after a traffic stop.
New information shows that the president of the Los Angeles City Council made an illegal U-turn on a road he has previously labeled as one of the most hazardous in the city.
He was pulled over for this traffic violation on a stretch of roadway part of the High Injury Network, known for numerous accidents and fatalities.
Previously, Harris-Dawson has described these roads as “some of the city’s biggest killers,” asserting that they claim more lives annually than gang violence.
He has been a key advocate for the city’s “vision zero” initiative, which seeks to eradicate traffic deaths through various measures like road redesign and targeted enforcement in these high-risk areas.
In a co-authored article, he bluntly mentioned that the city had recognized a “high-injury network” where deadly crashes occur with alarming frequency, warning that without intervention, “people will die in these hotspots.”
His proposed solutions include better-designed intersections, improved traffic lights, and road designs that consider human mistakes.
He also pointed out the demographics impacted most. “No community is immune, but victims tend to be the elderly, immigrants, people of color, low-income residents, those with disabilities, and children,” he wrote.
Now, he’s facing the scrutiny himself.
During a City Council discussion, he claimed that he was stopped without justification at the corner of 25th Avenue and Main Street, calling the experience traumatic and hinting at racial bias.
However, authorities clarified that the traffic stop was not linked to the Los Angeles Police Department. It was actually school police who stopped him as he was leaving near a high school, according to their reports.
They noted Harris-Dawson first caught their attention for erratic driving before he exited the police vehicle, crossed the median, and executed the illegal U-turn.
This infraction typically results in a fine of $238, a point on one’s driving record, and could lead to higher insurance costs. The incident occurred around the time when students were arriving at school.
Sources revealed that during the traffic stop, Harris-Dawson reached out to a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid consequences.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League criticized the City Council president, claiming he spun a misleading narrative about the event.
“Marquise Harris-Dawson’s effort to manipulate public perception through an exaggerated personal account that overlooks critical details is both unethical and misleading,” a spokesperson remarked.
“If there were an Academy Award category for fabricated stories by elected officials, he would surely take home the Oscar.”
The Post attempted to contact Harris-Dawson for his perspective on these allegations, but he did not respond.
