Bakersfield.com

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I am a 22 year old full time college student, a part time server, and have recently become involved with the local bike community. With my full schedule, I often ride the bike trail and around town late in the evenings.

Last night, as my boyfriend and I were heading home from a long ride, we were stopped by two police officers on the grounds of suspicious activity. We calmly complied with their wishes, but their antagonistic behavior continued unprovoked. When it was clear we weren't free to go, my boyfriend leaned around to look at their license plate for identification purposes. At this point the officers became visibly upset, ordered us onto the curb, and patted us down, all the while interrogating us further as to our activities. One of the officers grabbed our bag and searched it without consent. The harshest accusation leveled against us was that "only criminals and police officers are out this late."

While I appreciate their service, I find it deplorable that these public servants demonstrated blatant disregard for our constitutional rights and engaged in behavior unbecoming of the profession. The Bakersfield Police Department should be spending its time making the streets safer at night for residents, not harassing peaceful cyclists.