July 7, 2020

To: UC Santa Cruz Community
From: Nader Oweis, Chief of Police
Re: Identifying suspects in possible bias-related incident

The UC Santa Cruz Police Department is investigating the suspicious circumstances surrounding a piece of rope that was strung from a street sign near the campus entrance. At this time, this is not classified as a crime, and we do not know the motives of the individual that left it there. Nonetheless, his incident is deeply troubling to those that observed it, and may be considered a bias-related incident.

The rope was not tied to the sign, but did have a loop at one end.

Video footage from the area revealed the rope was thrown onto the sign around 9:45 p.m. July 2 by an individual accompanied by three others. All four quickly left the area.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call  the UC Santa Cruz Police Department at 831.459.2231 ext. 1 to speak with an officer.