Nude biking okay, says CPD Chief Paul Cooper

Riding your bike around Claremont while naked will not get you arrested, according to Claremont Police Chief Paul Cooper. Well, sometimes it won't.

Cooper said police will not take action against a nude biker as long as witnesses are not offended by the nudity or the biker is not getting sexual pleasure from his/her activity.

"This is a specific intent crime," Cooper said. "The persons exposing their genitals have to receive some type of sexual gratification from this. There's no evidence to support that [in this case]."

The discussion came at last night's council meeting, sparked by public comment from resident Ralph Ruiz, a retired LAPD cop who likes to complain about anything and everything that Claremont cops do.

On a recent Friday evening, Ruiz was driving near the Village with his 14-year-old daughter when a group of 25 to 30 scantily clad college students came riding by on their bikes. Ruiz called the cops, who stopped a handful of the naked riders but let them go on their merry way.

"When you have 25 to 30 students out there naked on their bikes, you have to cite and you have to make arrests ," Ruiz said. "You can't just let them do whatever they want."

Mayor Pro Tem Sam Pedroza called the incident a "shocking reminder that we do live in a college town."

Councilmember Corey Calaycay chimed in on the discussion, saying Claremont is trying to bill itself as a tourist destination and public nudity might harm the city's image. He also seemed offended by what he read in a Pomona College student newspaper about the incident.

"One of the writers referred to one of our officers as a 'douche bag' for apprehending her," Calaycay said. "I just thought that was out-of-line, disrespectful to our officers."

Wait, did Calaycay just say 'douche bag' up on the dais? New Mayor Linda Elderkin couldn't repress a chuckle upon hearing the statement from her colleague. Neither could I.

At any rate, Cooper suggested the possibility of a "public nudity ordinance" that could deter further nakedness around town. The council didn't seem too interested at this time.