Police rethinking rabbit costume traffic stings after criticism

Glendale police continued a pedestrian safety sting on Thursday, but they dropped the use of a rabbit costume that had generated some criticism.

A sting on Wednesday used a police officer dressed as a rabbit -- a move one councilman described as “breathtakingly dangerous.”

On Thursday, Glendale Police Officer Tom Broadway dressed in a pair of shorts and T-shirt, a far cry from the furry Easter costume that he sported a day earlier. He walked back and forth at two crosswalks, one lighted and marked, the other not. All the while officers cited drivers who failed to yield, while giving them a rundown of pedestrian safety rules.

“I am happy to hear that they modified the sting and agreed that the idea of a giant rabbit — a total anomaly out in the roadway — is not exactly training our drivers to learn really anything,” Councilman John Drayman said.

The city was reevaluating the use of costumes as decoys, although they have not been uncommon at previous pedestrian enforcement campaigns, city spokesman Ritch Wells said.

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-- Veronica Rocha

Photo: A car does not stop for a Glendale police officer dressed in a rabbit costume crossing the street at Central and Garfield in Glendale on Wednesday. The driver was pulled over for not yielding to a pedestrian. (Raul Roa / News-Press)