The South Pasadena Police Department said it plans to ask the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to review its findings from an investigation into a Saturday incident in which, according to police, a man drove his truck onto the sidewalk to confront a woman who was protesting.
The woman, who was part of a group, had attached signs for the protest activity to the traffic signal pole on the southwest corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Mission Street, next to a Starbucks. Police said that around 1:50 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, a man confronted the protesters after driving his pickup truck onto the crosswalk ramp on the corner, a move that the SPPD said is illegal.
“He then assertively expressed to the woman his opposition of her attempt to post political signs on public property,” said a department statement.
The woman contacted the SPPD and said she believed the motorist’s actions were an attack against her, the statement added. Responding officers reported de-escalating the confrontation and interviewing both parties and other witnesses.
Police said the man admitted to driving there to confront the woman but said he was not trying to strike her. The department posted a video from a nearby surveillance camera depicting the incident; the footage shows the Dodge Ram truck making a left turn from northbound Fair Oaks and almost entirely driving onto the sidewalk.
In response to repeated questions from the community, the department said the man had not yet been cited for the maneuver because it is part of a broader investigation into the rest of the incident.
“In such incidents, all violations, including traffic violations, will be examined in their totality,” the department said in its statement.
Those with any additional information or footage of the incident are encouraged to contact the SPPD at (626) 403-7270.
