Heavy police coverage on the UC Santa Cruz campus this Tuesday was attributed by Santa Cruz Police Department spokesperson Zach Friend to a county-wide operation called “Badges” that combats aggressive driving.
“Every agency takes on a Tuesday, so it moves around the area,” Friend said.
A Santa Cruz Police Department officer pulled over and ticketed fifth-year Lucas Healy on Tuesday morning as he rode on his bike down Hagar Drive by the Bay Tree Bookstore and turned left by the Cowell Computer Lab without stopping at the stop sign.
“I stop there when I have to,” Healy said. “It sucks when you’re on a bike. If there’s no traffic or pedestrians, I don’t see the point in stopping.”
The police coverage caught students, including Healy, off-guard.
“It’s bullshit,” Healy said. “I saw [SCPD officers] all the way up High Street today too, waiting at every stop. I can’t believe my first ticket was on a bike.”
