South Gate Residents Want Crackdown on Cruising in Walnut Park

South Gate Patch Latino ran story where residents expressed concern over the cruising practices within South Gate and neighboring areas. Cruising, they insisted, was no longer a teenage act of rebellion, but rather something a lot more sophisticated and dangerous.  

Many of the drivers participating, but also consuming alcohol while performing unsafe stunts with their cars on public streets. Maneuvers that include, exhibitionist speeds, burning tires, driving doughnuts, and at times, even illegal street racing.  

Residents insist that cruising still strong, and feel that this practice has been going on for far too long. 

“For the past fifteen years this has been happening,” said , a member of Community in Action (CIA), a group of South Gate residents that has been monitoring the actions of cruisers for many years. “We have gotten to the point where this cannot be tolerated.”

The eradication of cruising is a difficult task, admit CIA members, since they have come to find that the driving, which affects South Gate, is being organized and done in neighboring areas.

Places that they feel are not being properly policed and are therefore calling upon those responsible to take action. 

CIA considers the area of Walnut Park, which is policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and is part of Los Angeles County, to be the biggest safe haven for those who cruise.  This is an area that they want police to crackdown on to put an end to a practice that they see as a public safety hazard.

“This seems to be central point of the cruisers,” said Tony Morales, another South Gate resident and member of CIA, who has been monitoring the cruising problem for many years. “They feel like they can come [to Walnut Park] and do whatever they want.”

The areas surrounding the corner of Pacific Boulevard and Walnut Street within Walnut Park, are said to be particularly popular with cruisers on the weekends, according to Morales.

 “When the cruisers are chased out they come here,” said Morales, as he stood on the corner of Walnut Street and Pacific Boulevard. “They do not have enough police here.”

The South Gate Police Department (SGPD) is very familiar with the cruising problem. South Gate has a cruising ordinance and police have impounded vehicles within South Gate.

Captain Keith Hupp of the SGPD told Patch via email that cruising has been been less eventful over the past few weeks, but that it has remained constant. Further adding that they are aware of the area in Walnut Park is a problem for South Gate.

“Their usual pattern is to cruise from Walnut Park on the north end down through South Gate and usually south of [Martin Luther King Boulevard] in Lynwood,” said Capt. Hupp.

In Walnut Park the cars will usually congregate on curbs, before driving through South Gate, and into parking lots of Lynwood until they are pushed out by the LASD, according to Capt. Hupp.

Both Morales and Perez, insist that Walnut Park is also the place where they return to upon being forced out of any city.

Cooperation between police stations is key to cracking down on this illegal practice. In fact, that was the main difficulty that was cited by the SGPD when addressing the challenges of effectively policing cruising. 

“Most of the problem is outside of South Gate,” said Capt. Hupp . “We need to work together with other agencies on a regional basis.”

Check out the Youtubevideos above that claim to show cruising on Pacific Avenue. At the end of one video a police car can be seen stopping a vehicle.

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