Two women cyclists say they can hardly believe what happened to them on the High Trestle Trail.
Polk County deputy Dale Petersen stopped the women in the town of Sheldahl, where the trial meets Polk Street.
The
Polk County Sheriff's office said there have been numerous complaints
from people who live in towns along the trail. They said the cyclists
aren't stopping at stop signs and it's creating a hazard.
It took about three minutes for KCCI to capture a bicyclist blowing through a stop sign in the town of Sheldahl on Thursday.
But two cyclists say their encounter with a Polk County deputy was pure harassment.
"You can't make this stuff up," said Cathy Olson.
"We kept waiting that someone was going to punk us like this is a joke. We just kept saying really?" said Lisa Schaa.
Olson
is a Boone High School English teacher. She and her friend Schaa
spotted the deputy before they pulled to a stop at the sign. They said
they didn't expect what they say happened next.
"He
just started yelling at us out the window," Olson said, "and he said,
'Do you girls know what a little red octagon sign means?' And we said
'Yes.' And he said, 'Did you stop?' And we were stopped at the stop sign
so I thought it was a little ridiculous, but I said, 'Yes.' He said,
'Did you plan on stopping?' I said, 'Yes.' And he said, 'Well, she
didn't' and he pointed to my friend Lisa and said, 'She had to emergency
brake.'"
While
the deputy questioned Schaa, Olson rode around his car to the other
side of the trail. She said she was surprised when he turned his car up
onto the trail and came after her.
"Then he got right up into my face and my friend described it as 'I
thought he was going to chest bump you.' I mean he was that close to me.
And he said, 'What is it that you think you're doing out here today?'
and I said, 'I'm just trying to enjoy a bike ride on a beautiful day in
Iowa' and he said 'Well, I'm about to rain on your parade,'" said Olson.
Olson and Schaa
said they waited more than 30 minutes for the deputy to emerge from his
car. He came back with tickets -- one for each of them for failing to
stop at a stop sign and one more for Olson for not following an
officer's order. Olson said she wasn't aware she was given an order.
"It was frightening," said Olson.
The women have both filed a complaint with the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Polk County Sheriff's Office Capt. Joe Simon said the internal affairs department is already looking into the incident.
"Those complaints are being investigated," Simon said. "We do take those complaints very seriously."
The
fine for failing to stop at a stop sign is $100. Failing to obey an
officer carries a $200 fine. Both women have pleaded not guilty and
have asked for jury trials.