SANTA CRUZ — Police arrested Michael Sweatt — one of the plaintiffs who sued the city over orders to evict the Ross Camp and an advocate for rights of the homeless in Santa Cruz — Thursday afternoon after he tossed 10 baggies of heroin on the sidewalk while authorities were chasing him, according to a release.

Sweatt, 54, was arrested in connection with possession of heroin for sale and felony probation violation. He remained at Santa Cruz County Jail on Friday afternoon. Bail was $3,000.

Police had warrants for Sweatt’s arrest. While searching for him about 12:15 p.m., he was spotted riding a bicycle near Coral Street and the railroad tracks, police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said.

An advisory warned officers of the wayward cyclist. Within minutes, a downtown ranger and neighborhood policing team members saw Sweatt riding his bicycle into the Santa Cruz METRO station at the 900 block of Pacific Avenue.

Sweatt threw the bags of heroin on the sidewalk “to conceal” them, police said.

He was among a group of people who were vocal in protecting the Ross Camp, which made headlines earlier this year when the city evicted occupants after a court battle.

Sweatt previously told a Sentinel reporter he invited into his tidy living camp space — where needles were visible — that he does not use the opiate. A visitor came to his tent and exchanged cash with Sweatt. It wasn’t clear what the transaction entailed.

He has said homeless people have jobs but struggle to afford the expense of life in Santa Cruz — and the West Coast.

“We work, too. We have to survive,” Sweatt has said. “Sure, we have our problems like anyone.”

Authorities are familiar with Sweatt, who has 39 traffic and misdemeanor cases in Santa Cruz County Superior Court documents.

By the numbers

Santa Cruz police crime data analysts showed some slipping numbers of narcotics-related crimes this year compared with the same time period last year — from January to July.

During that time, there were 1,478 charges linked to illegal drugs in Santa Cruz. That number dropped to 1,319 narcotics-related charges filed this year in the city, police said.

Even meth possession charges dropped — from 584 charges last year to 524 in 2019, an analyst said.

Possession of illegal narcotics for sale is a growing problem in this city, however. Last year, there were three such cases; so far, there have been 29 charges filed linked with having narcotics for sale.

In a warning to drug users, Blaschke advised, “We see you and your drugs, too.”

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office this year assembled a task force specifically meant to target meth cases. That team has been very busy with rising numbers of drug busts this summer, Sgt. Dee Baldwin has said. In its first two weeks, that team made nine arrests.

“We’re going to keep pursuing these cases,” Baldwin has said. “Right now, with methamphetamine, prices are dropping and availability is increasing. The long-term effects are resulting in a bunch of deaths. It’s a major problem that we are proactively attacking. It’s a problem that we are battling every day.”