Four SCPD Officers Issue Groundless Citation to Woman for Spitting on Pacific Avenue

On the night of October 20th, four Santa Cruz Police Department officers flexed their arbitrary rule in the ongoing war against poor people trying to survive on the streets when they ticketed a woman on Pacific Avenue for spitting. These boys in blue did not find it prudent to give this guest to our city a warning about spitting on the sacred sidewalks of Santa Cruz. She was issued a ticket for nothing more than spitting.

Santa Cruz Municipal Code section 9.50.020, governing conduct on public property, monuments, and lawns, indicates that the ticket is unjustifiable and therefore should not have been issued. 9.50.02 (d) forbids the intentional discharge of a liquid substance. However, the municipal code states that a person is violating 9.50.02 "after having been notified by a police officer, public officer or downtown host that he or she is in violation of the prohibition."

The woman who was cited for spitting told the SCPD officers that she is a military veteran who helped people as part of a special K9 unit. She also demonstrated a chant and march from her military training before giving Officer Winston an "autograph." After the police left, she showed me and another observer where she got shot in the knee while in the military. She told me that she had been in Santa Cruz for two days. ((i))