Cal Poly alcohol sting nets 20 arrests

June 7, 2016

Cal Poly LargeA Cal Poly University Police Department operation conducted during an on-campus concert Saturday ended with 20 arrests. The operation targeted underage drinkers. [KSBY]

As Cal Poly held its Spring Stampede concert, officers checked for fake IDs at local bars and stores. Police also cracked down on alcohol violations at the concert, which was held at the university’s sports complex.

Officers issued three citations in addition to making 20 arrests. Authorities have not disclosed on which charges the suspects were arrested and cited.

The sting was a joint operation between university police and the Morro Bay and Pismo Beach police departments. California’s Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funded the operation through the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s GAP grant project.


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Underage kids drink and we’re a college town. How we deal with it is the question and for my money, keeping the drunk drivers off the road would be a more effective use of tax dollars.


Why are Morro Bay and Pismo Beach police participating in an operation far outside of their jurisdictions?


If I was a resident of either of those cities, I’d be pissed about misuse of city police resources.


Maybe we could focus our law enforcement resources on getting drunks off the roads, rather than using them to monitor underage drinking in controlled situations such as on-campus events.


Kind of like shooting fish in a barrel isn’t it? A little too easy.


Why not spend the time and arrest 20 homeless. Seems more productive to society.


“Pismo Beach and Morro Bay police departments.” Seems odd, but go get that state and federal grant money before someone else does. If I had to guess, I’d guess the City of SLO declined for some reason. “Enquiring” minds want to know.


Only accept new students who are over 21. Problem solved.


So what do 18 year olds do for 3 years after high school?


Go to another school or get to work. Duh!


3 years of military service….


Last time I went for a walk downtown I lost count of all of the bars. In the 80’s you could count them on one hand.


I can think of over five SLO bars that were around in the 80s: McCarthy’s, Bulls, Mustang Tavern, Frog & Peach, Mission Grill, Loco Ranchero, and there are probably a ton more I am forgetting.


Did you forget about the alcohol-fueled Poly Royal Riots in 1990?


Even further back in history, San Luis Obispo was known throughout California as “El Barrio de Tigre” – “the town of the wildcat.” It was one of the most untamed towns in the trans-Mississippi West with lots of drunks and vice throughout town.


Drinking is SLO is nothing new, and things are definitely not as bad as they once were.


Sounds like your inability to count bars could be an age-related sign of dementia. If you are having problems counting the bars during your walks downtown, maybe you shouldn’t leave the nursing home. ;)


So there are less bars today or more? Don’t trip over numbers while missing the point. ;)


I doubt there are fewer bars, but the ones that are here may very well be less fun.


The population of SLO has increased, so it makes sense that the number of bars has also increased.


In any case, this article was about drinking at an event on campus at Cal Poly (which has zero bars on campus and is also not technically part of San Luis Obispo city at all), so yes we are wondering what was your point of mentioning the number of bars in downtown SLO? If anything, it sounds like we need more bars in SLO to satisfy the demand of on campus drinkers!


Let’s see, back when I was a Poly student the “Miracle Mile” consisted of: 1865 Restaurant, Pepe’s, Mustang Tavern, McCarthy’s, Frog & Peach, Bull’s, Sebastian’s, DK’s West Indies, Cigar Factory, McClintock’s and Spike’s. No one really drank at the Wine Street Inn. (11)


Pepe’s, McCarthy’s, Bull’s, McClintock’s and Spike’s remain. (5)


In addition we now have: Blue, Mother’s, Library, Creeky-Tiki, Whatever is currently in Sebastions’ old location, SLO Brew, Marston’s, Black Sheep, Frog and Peach, Luis Wine, Sidecar, Blast 825 Taproom, Eureka!, Central Coast Wines, Firestone Grill, Buffalo Pub, Central Coast Brewing, Libertine Brewing, BarrelHouse Speakeasy, Foremost Wine, the coming “bowling alley plus at least another 3-4 wino joints.” (25+)


So 11 vs. 30+. You do the arithmetic.


I’m getting teary-eyed thinking of the The Whistle Stop, Ethel Red’s, Sully’s, The Dark Room, The Motel Inn… Somebody hand me a tissue.


the Cigar Factory, Wine Street…, I’m old and my memory fades…


“Riots?” The “riots” (sic) were fueled by local law enforcement that had no clue about how to handle a group of drunk young people. Rather than contain the situation (no violence or looting) and allow it to die naturally, the cops’ egos (and incompetence) got in the way as they tried to get over on the “rioters.”


The result was escalation which was met by a call for mutual aid which kicked things up several more notches. SLOPD Chief James Gardiner should have been canned for the performance of the department he was in charge of.


SLO was not “one of the most untamed towns in the trans-Mississippi West with lots of drunks and vice throughout town.” Sounds like you’ve been reading too much crap pumped out by the Tribune. Find a new information source.


Ah, come on, you musta been one of the “rioters” with that version of things. What I remember is drunken kids sacking liquor stores, building fires in the middle of the street, breaking every window in reach, etc. Be real — the coppers didn’t do any of that, and had to try to control the out of control beer rioters. What’s really interesting is kids at other colleges riot for things that matter, but at Poly our sole riot was for beer. Go figure what that means about the quality of our local sacred cow.


What’s wrong with this picture? Legalize alcohol on campus, have an on campus concert and then harvest violation dollars. The next stunt might be to sell condoms at the field and track games.


If these sting operations result in preventing just ONE incident like what happened at Stanford recently, then it’s worth the effort.


That is such a dangerous philosophy.


Dangerous? I think not.


useless big brother cops making lots of coin.


OxyContin is legal, too. However, kids who use it illegally should still be busted.


The article said they targeted underage drinking. You can’t “legalize” that on campus, as there is a 21 and over drinking age nationwide.


Alcohol’s not legalized on campus. Fact check. It’s not legalized anyplace if you’re underage, and that’s what this is about.


College kids drinking?!?! You don’t say!