A Los Angeles-area father fed up with his city’s inaction apparently painted “stop” on a street and installed 30-inch reflective stop signs at his own cost. He has been arrested.
Joseph Brandlin said he had seen numerous near-crashes at the intersection outside his home in El Segundo, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The neighbors immediately organized and wrote 74 letters of support for Brandlin, who handed the letters over to city officials shortly after his arrest.
The 44-year-old has lived at the location for nearly four decades and said the city was ignoring complaints about the intersection of Loma Vista Street and Acacia Avenue.
“I care deeply about the safety of our neighborhood and the families that live here,” Brandlin told the Times.
He got together with other residents and presented a petition with about 50 signatures asking the city to install additional stop signs. The city said its traffic analysis found insufficient reason to merit the signs, but residents said they saw no evidence of the survey.
“There’s a park right there, and it’s a magnet for children,” said Gary Sanders, a 62-year-old resident of the neighborhood.
“A tragedy could occur,” he added. “I wonder if a tragedy does have to occur for the city to do something about it.”
Brandlin said the last straw was when his son was nearly hit by a car at the intersection because of low visibility.
He began installing the stop signs on the early morning of March 14, according to the El Segundo Police Department.
While the city may not have made the requested safety changes at the intersection, the city rushed to prosecute Brandlin when he took matters into his own hands.
He was arrested at about 1:30 a.m.
Brandlin said the arrest was excessive, as he was charged with multiple felonies. Among the charges were interfering with a traffic control device, grand theft, and vandalism exceeding $400. He was released later that day and is scheduled for a court hearing in June.
The neighbors immediately organized and wrote 74 letters of support for Brandlin, who handed the letters over to city officials shortly after his arrest.
“I’m asking the council for a straightforward action to install stop signs on intersection of Loma Vista Street and Acacia Avenue or complete and transparent evaluation with the community,” said Brandlin at a city council meeting days after his arrest.
The Times report noted that there have been other incidents in which residents have been arrested for their vigilante improvements to street safety.
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Brandlin says the city council has not responded to his requests.
The Times said the city council did not respond to request for comment.
“The city just wasn’t listening,” Brandlin said.
The single dad told KCBS-TV that he would do it again to keep kids and families safe.
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