Update: One of the people arrested during the protest outside Southside Presbyterian Church, Mari Galup, is being charged with assaulting a federal officer and will be arraigned today at the DeConcini Federal Courthouse at 1 p.m.
There will be an emergency press conference to take place noon today at Southside Presbyterian Church on 317 W. 23rd St. in response to Tucson Police Department’s call to Border Patrol after a minor traffic stop that led to an arrest:
Local Tucson Police Department (TPD) officers called Border Patrol on a worker and a loving father—Agustin and Arturo— Tuesday evening for a minor traffic stop. In response to this SB 1070 injustice, community members surrounded the Border Patrol vehicle locked in arms in order to protest the detention of Agustin and Arturo. The Border Patrol agents rushed-in to break the non-violent circle. About 20 TPD cars and 15 Border Patrol vehicles arrived to the scene. Agents pushed elderly women, threatened youth with tasers, shot people with rubber bullets, and pepper-sprayed community members.
Furthermore, Border Patrol interrogated random people on the sidewalk and took community leader Rosa Leal, even after she showed agents an Arizona driver’s license. They also handcuffed and detained local activist Mari Galup.
In light of the growing debate on immigration reform, collaborations between local police and immigration agents, as well as criminalization of migrants and militarization of the US-Mexico border continue. Our community does not stand for this.
The community demands that local TPD stop calling Border Patrol. Otherwise, Police Chief Villaseñor must go!
Please join us at a Press Conference to hear from community members that were present.
This article appears in Oct 3-9, 2013.
Might want to rewrite that first sentence . . . seems like it’s missing something. Also, wtf – why did law enforcement feel the need to respond so harshly?
I see. So only legal residents are required to obey the law. If you’re in the country illegally, or disagree with the actions of law enforcement, well, then just let ‘er rip. And I’m not terribly impressed with the use of all the buzzwords in this biased report.
TPD has been escalating their abuse on non-violent protestors, and undocumented persons. I’ve been watching the various videos from those who were there last night and there was alot of noise and locking of arms, but no aggression on the part of the protestors. Rubber bullets? Pepper spray? Dogs? All we need now are water hoses and we will be taken right back to the 60s, where our heinous AZ State Legislators want us.
SB 1070 is a law. Understand that.
“Our community does not stand for this.
The community demands that local TPD stop calling Border Patrol. Otherwise, Police Chief Villaseñor must go!”
Not biased or anything.
Demands do nothing, when TPD is following the law. 1070 says that when a person is ARRESTED, even if it is cuff and release, they are to check residency. You don’t know why the person was arrested. Did they lie? Did they do something in the past that came up with their name? Did they refuse to give a name? You don’t know.
Then when residency is checked and they are NOT RESIDENTS, BP is called in. THAT IS THE LAW. A bunch of people fighting the cops on it, gets no where, fight the law, in court.
Not following the directions of the officers, etc, is where the NON lethal means of getting people to back off, come into play. Your fault for getting peppered or bit if you don’t follow what they are saying. The photos show people just blatently walking into the road (traffic issue now), getting into cops faces (harrassing an officer now), getting in the way of the arrest/stop (interfering with an officer/stop/arrest now).
The cops followed the law. BP followed the law. Stop being biased.
Cranky Cowboy, just because it is law does not make it moral, correct or just. Did we learn nothing from unjust laws and unjust regimes?
“Cranky Cowboy, just because it is law does not make it moral, correct or just. Did we learn nothing from unjust laws and unjust regimes?”
Now you sound exactly like the Tea Party guys in the US House of Representatives who caused the shutdown of much of the federal government. When people think each of us has the right to pick and choose which laws to follow we are about two steps from anarchy.
Hummm. The way I see it the BP should stay on the border where they can shoot fence climbers in the BACK.
Stay out of Tucson, BP, your misconduct should stay south.
I wonder how many of the “a-law-is-a-law” crowd clamor for the international laws against starting wars based on false pretenses to be applied to our leaders?
Roberto Villasenor has openly disagreed with enforcing the law of the land when it comes to SB1070 and illegal immigration. He has been at the center of several of these ‘spontaneous arrest protests’. How does it happen that his law enforcement officers are making a routine traffic arrest and there just happens to be dozens of protestors right on the scene. This man, and his man, are staging these events. I am sure of this and I am fed up with these idiotic tactics of his. Why the news media is not reporting on this facet of these arrests is beyond me.
I agree with Gandoff, there seem to be plenty of Border Patrol agents far from the border. In fact if they would send them all south, they could link their arms along the border in three shifts. Close all the check points and send those agents south too.
What you won’t hear in the media reports: Wed night 10/9/13, TPD received a call from BP about a driver weaving and running into curbs along Speedway west of I-10. While waiting for TPD to respond, the BP unit managed to stop the vehicle before anyone was injured or further property damage could occur. TPD took the driver into custody.
Where were all the protestors when THIS incident happened?
Not taking any side because frankly I’m tired of this whole issue. It was disclosed in today’s Star that the accused is a member of their political coalition known as Corazon de Tucson and not some random yutz stopped by the cops. The fact that it all took place adjacent to the Southside Presbyterian Church suggests it was planned to dupe TPD and Border Patrol. Again, I’m not taking sides, only pointing out how convenient it was for them to be stopped at that exact place.
Answer for n7igv: Nowhere, because the BP pulled the car over based on reasonable suspicion that the driver was impaired in some fashion (DUI) rather than because they were brown (DWB). Had Agustin or Arturo been weaving down the road endangering anybody with anything other then their residential status, the locals would probably have applauded the cops for taking a menace off the road.