I recently (Friday, Aug. 23) had an encounter with one of Sebastopol's finest. I was at Aubergine, enjoying an adult beverage with some friends. A friend invited some of us to his house to play cards. He lives just up the street so I was going to walk to his house as I have done on previous occasions. I went out to my truck to retrieve my glasses and sweatshirt. I exited the building, walked through the covered outdoor patio area to the top of the stairs(approx. 35 feet), down the stairs to my truck at the base of the stairs. There were quite a few people near my truck; this is the area where many go to smoke and congregate. I decided to move my truck across the parking to avoid the inevitable trash and cigarette butts that are thrown in the bed of the truck. I backed out of the space I was in and before I began to move forward, a reserve Sebastopol police officer (officer David Andrews) approached the drivers side window. He said, you're not wearing your seatbealt. I responded that I was in a parking lot, I was moving my truck and that I was not going anywhere. He then stated that I had just walked through and disrupted an undercover investigation; that I had compromised an ongoing investigation. I asked him how I was supposed to be aware that an investigation was taking place. There were no uniformed officers present, no barricades, no crime scene tape and nobody asking me to exit via an alternate route. Things devolved from that point...he ended up arresting me for DUI.
Has anyone else experienced harassment and unreasonable actions at the hands of the Sebastopol PD, or had any interaction with reserve officer Andrews. Thanks for your input!