WATSONVILLE — Multiple law agencies joined forces Thursday to fan out around Watsonville and stop drivers who were violating traffic safety issues in a program known as BADGES, or Before Aggressive Drivers Get Everyone Stopped.
Traffic Sgt. Donny Thul said the program also included a pedestrian decoy operation on Airport Boulevard where a plain-clothed officer used a crosswalk as waiting police officers pulled over drivers that failed to stop for the pedestrian.
On April 4, a pedestrian was seriously injured after being struck by a car on Airport Boulevard at Holm Road while using the very sidewalk police set up their decoy operation Thursday.
The California Highway Patrol assisted WPD in stopping numerous cars during the decoy operation. At one point a big rig nearly mowed down decoy officer Noe Hernandez while he was midway across Airport Boulevard.
“That was close!” he barked. “That was pretty scary.”
A CHP officer was quick to chase down the big rig and hand out a citation.
Thul said officers handed 77 citations throughout the day.
