Tucson Police Chief Roberto A. Villaseñor has broken his department’s general silence (other than some brief non-committal PR comments) about accusations of brutality Saturday night and issued an extensive statement regarding the viral video of an officer shoving woman during the “unlawful assembly” at Park Ave. and University Blvd.

Here is an excerpt from Tucson Police Department Facebook page:

While I understand the level of emotion concerning videos that have been circulating from March 29, I would like to implore members of the community to allow us the time to thoroughly investigate the incident. I am not making any excuses; however, I am duty bound to weigh all of the evidence in this situation, which necessarily involves consideration of differing perspectives, statements and viewpoints. This is not the type of situation where judgment may be made lightly or without knowing all the facts. If our conduct was wrong, we will hold ourselves accountable.

These are difficult situations that often put law enforcement in a no-win situation. On the night of Thursday, March 27, the Sweet 16, we did not deploy additional resources in the area, and we had to draw resources from across the city to deal with the hundreds of people that took over University Blvd. Even though we had never experienced that type of crowd reaction so early in the tournament, there were some questions as to why we were not ready and deployed. So for the Elite 8 on Saturday, we did deploy additional resources based upon what happened two nights earlier and are now questioned as to whether our presence was the cause for the disturbance.

It is important to acknowledge that there were numerous people present on Saturday night who came out expressly for the purpose of causing a disturbance. Social media sources of comments posted before and during the event prove that. The fact that there were no serious injuries and only one bent street sign demonstrates that our presence helped maintain control.

We are not an organization that shies away from being self-critical and holding ourselves accountable. It is easy to paint with a broad brush in situations such as this, but again I am asking the public for a little patience while we take the time to conduct a thorough investigation and arrive at fact supported conclusion.

Is this enough? Is the public’s memory long enough to care by the the time the investigation is concluded? Has the court of public opinion and YouTube comments already spoken on whether the cop’s actions were justified or not?

This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 2, 2014.

The editor of the Tucson Weekly. I have no idea how I got here.

25 replies on “Chief of Police Responds to Brutality Claim”

  1. We need police to protect us and our children. That was not a shove, it was brutality. If alcohol is legal next to a college campus, society and law enforcement will have to learn to deal with it in a civil manner.

  3. Not enough.
    1) All officers that can be identified from the videos must be put on leave pending an investigation. Officers that have committed acts of gratuitous violence must be expelled from the force and charged with criminal assault (that should be an exemplary punishment. Individual agents must be held responsible for their action)
    2) The commanding officer at the scene must be put on leave w/o pay pending an investigation. His/her responsibilities are already evident
    3) TPD should clarify its rules of engagement and under what circumstances is the type of violence seen in the videos permitted. A review of these rules will be necessary.
    4) Villaseñor must resign. The fact that it was a no-win situation does not justify the abysmal performance of TPD in this situation. The fact itself that there needs to be an investigation means that the situation was poorly handled and that TPD failed its mission to protect Tucson citizen.

  4. For goodness sake, all he’s doing is asking the public to be patient while an investigation is conducted. That’s perfectly reasonable, and it’s what any other department would do in this situation.

  5. TPD created this situation. They look for any excuse to ex-post-facto justify their having been there.

    Let me be clear. TPD’s presence CAUSED THIS. Had they left the fans alone to mourn the loss [until criminal action if any] none of this would have happened.

    I don’t want them left alone to bury their crimes in the “Internal Affairs” kissass arena. Fire everyone who violated civil rights.

    Police talk about “civilians.” Big News Flash: Police ARE civilians. None of them are military and it’s about time they took off their little boy play military panties and quit thinking they are an army.

  7. Yikes, Dave, Thanks for that link. Now we know. That girl was an attacker from the rear.

    From the link:
    “You walk up to the rear line of a riot line….. He did what he was trained to do… Prevent anyone to reach officer from backside…. Its mobile tactics/riot control 101…..next time dont approach a police riot line…. Textbook safety !! Nice job officer!!”

    or

    “Right, for the uninitiated here, THAT Officer was the REAR GUARD STOP, posted in the opposite direction of the field force to insure that no one attacked them from the rear…

    He did his job…you walk up on his section of the field force and you get leveled…

    It would have been within reason to reach-out to the loud mouth agitator with a sternum strike from the baton…he was too close and was a nuisance!”

    Nice.

  8. A snippet of an incident doesn’t tell the entire story. I know the Chief and he is a good man and will do what is right. Instead of fanning the flames, why not cool down and wait to see what really happened and how he handles it?

  9. Beating anyone who is near you simply because they are near you is idiotic. Stupid police officers act more like dogs than humans in these situations blindly following “rules” they made up themselves and don’t bother to tell anyone else. “Attacker from the rear” my ass. If I am within reach of a police officer simply because there’s nowhere else to stand, the police officer will beat me to the ground and arrest me for resisting arrest and for threatening a police officer simply because I am “in proximity”. All the police do in these situations is impose their own special brand of misery and brutality on innocent citizens and then stand around afterwards rationalizing their brutality and wonder why people hate them so much.

  11. Wow… several hundred (some inibriated) students assemble to “mourn” their teams loss, and suprise.. all hell breaks loose.. a street shut down..neighbors confined to their homes.. but thankfully to the TPD.. few arrests, one street sign bent.. one civilian mugged by a police officer on camera.. and the student body gets their panties in a twist.. but life goes on.

    Yes, the officer in the video should be held accountable, but like the chief said.. give the TPD time to investigate the event. If the officer is found to be outside the bounds, then he should be repremanded, and subject to justice system, as well as a civil suit.

    Tucson isn’t going to forget the event any time soon.. most students believe we live in a police state, and in their opinon, they’re not too far off, so I’m sure the student body isn’t about to let it go.

    But that said, the TPD did the right thing by being there to make sure the situation didn’t go south.

    I’m sure in another 25 years when the current students” children are attending a univeristy event, and a huge emotional crowd assembles, today’s students will then thank God for a police presence to insure the safety of their children and property.

    Until then, they will piss and moan about a bad hair day on University Boulevard, but will eventually understand the degenerative dynamics of a large crowd, high emotions, and a train wreck in progress. Anybody from the 60’s can tell you that what happened the other night is what’s going to happen under the same circumstances.

  12. At least the Border Patrol was not there. Riot
    girl could have been shot in the back!

  13. Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one. The fact is that unless you were actually there, you do not have the full story. Which is why the police are not rushing to judgement on this issue. The overall issue is if the cops are in riot gear are at a particular area, than it is bad idea to stay in that area. That is common sense 101. Something I guess many that go to the UofA lack. The woman said she was walking back to her car, but she was walking right towards the back of a line of police officers. The officer that pushed her, can not read her mind and did not know if her group was a threat to the line of officers. We do not know what happened BEFORE this short video was taken.

    It is easier to blame the police for the actions of a group of rowdy drunk college kids. I used the term “kid” because that is how that crowd of people were acting like. These types of mobs quickly descend into a full blown riots with property damage and injured people. One of my first memories of the UofA was when a riot erupted after the Duke game in 2001. The police where trying to stop things like that from happening again.

    Here is a friendly reminder of if the police did not respond down there BEFORE the crowd turn into a mob of animals…

    Maybe if these kids were out on the streets protesting the recent case of the Supreme Court of McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission that lifts the ban on aggregate campaign donations, which further allows wealthy donors to buy our politicians in the name of “free speech”, than I might have a little more compassion for these kids. However, they were out there because of a game, a freaking game. I wish our college kids, and country in general, cared as much about their politicians and who owns them as they do about sports. I think we be living in a lot different country…a better country.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_zFQ7e0Ovo

  14. It was no rodney king beatin’ but still uncalled for, have his badge!

  15. Regarding the police investigation: yes, I’m quite content to wait for all the facts. The video was certainly damning and somebody definitely has more than just a little ‘splaining to do. But while it’s our right to rush to judgement on Internet comment sections, the Chief of Police has a responsibility to make sure of his facts before he takes any sort of punative action.

    The same also holds true for the people (students and non-students) on the other side. As “Mike” said above, “opinions are like…” I also don’t know that the university needs to address the behavior until after we see what civil/criminal penalites have been meted out. It doesn’t seem right that students would receive additional punishments that non-students don’t face.

    But what really bothers me about this incident is that it has a very strong hint of self-fulfilling prophesy. It seems to me that the Star and local news broadcasts have been full of “pre-riot” stories in the weeks leading up to the Wisconsin game. It’s afforded local news the opportunity to dust off archive footage of previous “riots” — which is great for ratings, I’m sure. But is it helpful? Anyone care to guess the number of students in 2014 who were students in 2001? 1997?

    So was there drunken stupidity? Of course there was. Are the students at least partially to blame? Certainly. But I’m going to suggest that there’s plenty of blame to be shared by both TPD and the media.

  16. AS for this big riot …they showed a girl (who was texting…and wanting to just go to her car…) being batted in the chest by the officer’s BAT so hard it knocks her down….wow!!! This IS VIOLENCE………… “good-going” you stupid officer!!!! Did you break her ribs?…did you know people can get breast cancer from trauma?…yes, it can happen …injuries to cells and DNA….why couldn’t you just stand in front of her… your big enough to just block her steps forward. I guess she was a threat to you, given the fact that she was armed with an I-phone and camera …and you officer… decided she needed to be batted to the floor… she could have been killed. If that was my granddaughter… you would be facing lawsuits galore and no job!!! from Donna Rush RN.

  17. from Mike:
    “Maybe if these kids were out on the streets protesting the recent case of the Supreme Court of McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission that lifts the ban on aggregate campaign donations, which further allows wealthy donors to buy our politicians in the name of “free speech”, than I might have a little more compassion for these kids. However, they were out there because of a game, a freaking game. I wish our college kids, and country in general, cared as much about their politicians and who owns them as they do about sports. I think we be living in a lot different country…a better country.”
    TOTALLY agree!!!

  18. The assault on the young woman was clearly a police mistake. I’m sure they will focus on dealing with that for their civilian critics. But will they step back and take a look at their own behavior, which actually incited the crowds?

    There is video of the police pelting rounds of pepper balls at an individual walking toward their line. The perp had a big grin on his face because the police were playing his game. Why not just send a couple of officers out to arrest him? Don’t pelt him with ammo because that’s what he wants. Who were the adults there?

    Sure as the sun rises here in the summer, if you get confrontational with a crowd of inebriated young males (coeds too) they are going to get confrontational back. Walk up and arrest the bottle and smoke bomb lobbers. Get in and get out without pitting your attitude against their immaturity. Set an example for them of how a rational adult behaves.

  19. Want to be Cheif Roberto A. Villasenor is worthless and a racist just like the people who run the city of Tucson. He spent days hyping his officers up for this event and he got what he was hoping for.
    He just wants time to make up lies. His minions are not better then he his.

  20. Cheif Roberto A. Villasenor is worthless and a racist just like all the other people who run the city of Tucson. He spent days hyping his officers up for this event and he got what he was hoping for.
    He just wants time to make up lies. His minions are not any better then he is.

  21. “…our presence helped maintain control.” Is he serious? Chief Villaseñor is an incompetent boob and should be removed from his position.

    TPD provoked this supposed riot. Period. Again, go read about the post-game reaction in Madison, WI and contrast the police tactics there with TPD. No riot gear, no tear gas, no students being shot with bean bags. There were hundreds more students in the street in Madison than there were in Tucson with students climbing up trees and onto buildings. The Madison PD did not go in looking to start a fight like TPD did, and there were no injuries and no arrests. TPD is an absolute DISGRACE and they need to be taken to task by city government for their actions.

  22. Kash, I guess you do not believe in individuals being responsible for their OWN actions. I guess you want me to believe that the “future” of our country can be provoked like animals because of the way the police dress. I have not heard that excuse for immature children destroying property, assaulting police with throwing objects at them, and not listening to lawful orders. However, that seems to be the spin the local media is putting on this riot. That it was the cops fault for looking to scary and they provoked the rocks, bottles and firecrackers being thrown at them.

    Kash, I really hope you do not have children. I would hate for this type of thought process is being passed on to future generations. I guess that was part of the problem we had with students that did not listen to the police on Saturday night. Since you want to blame the police. I guess we can also blame the parents for raising children that seem to spit in the face of public safety.

    No, I think we should just blame the individuals that did not listen to the order of disperse , threw rocks, bottles, and firecrackers, and caused the reaction the police took to keep the peace in the streets.

    If you want to compare Tucson to Madison. There is one difference you left out. When Madison police told the students to disperse, they DID. Common Sense 101. The police tell you to leave. It is a good idea to listen to them. It is not your right to act like a fool causing a public disturbance. It is my right to be able to walk down University St without an unruly crowd causing damage and throwing bottles. I am glad my tax dollars went to good work to disperse that crowd.

  23. My life will never be empty enough to spend the amount of time it would take to refute all of the inaccuracies and delusions you spewed above. Good luck going through life as a doormat, Mike. Have a nice day.

  24. LOL. Actually it only took about 5 minutes. It is pretty easy find the ignorance in the belief the police are at fault for the riot. The way you generalize over a thousand people would normally make you a bigot, but since you are talking about the Tucson Police Department you think it is ok to generalize a large group of people.

    Not every person on University that night was causing a disturbance. However, only in delusional mind you can blame TPD for the actions of individuals. Again, this was all over a GAME. A stupid game. It speaks volumes with what is wrong with society. I am all for having fun, but when the police said “funs over, time to go home.” It is common sense to listen to them. The wrong decision is starting to throw rocks, bottles and firecrackers and wanting to getting into physical confrontations with them.

    If a large group of people want to challenge authority, I wish they would pick something more important than a sports team losing. Maybe how our election system is brought by the highest bidder, that our environment is being destroyed, our trade polices have killed millions of middle class jobs, we have a 60,000 page tax system that only the rich can afford to understand, never ending wars being charged to future generations, genetically modified foods, private prison systems, and a lot more issues to be out on the streets protesting than a stupid game…

  25. My name is Willy Bernhard Bils. I hold a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Oregon and passed the Arizona bar examination in 1991. At this time, I do not practice law, but am a civil and consumer rights advocate. Most of my work occurred in the early 1990’s through 2012, focusing primarily on police misconduct, privacy rights and disability rights (the latter two involving both government and corporate abuses). I became fully disabled in 2000 and decided to spend my free time working solely as a public interest advocate and legal research and writing analyst for public interest causes at no charge. My work has been documented in the Arizona Daily Star, the Tucson Weekly, the Associated Press, the Arizona Republic, USA Today, the Houston Chronicle, and the CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS television affiiliation in Tucson. I have been published as an oped writer and interviewed as a public interest advocate by the foregoing media entities, and an AM radio talk show host and guest. I was personally responsible for the report on the television program “Inside Edition”, which reported on TPD abuses in 1996. In the 1990’s TPD was an organization that was generally known as “out of control” for good reason. There was then a plethora of news accounts and litigation about/against the City of Tucson and individual TPD officers. Since then, under the leadership of new Chief Chris Magnus, there appears to be better training of officers and their approach to the public. I have personally witnessed this, the resumption of what was originally begun by then-Chief Douglas Smith, who the City hired to reform TPD (and was later forced out of it by internal elements from the “good old boy network”). personally would rather have seen Assistant Chief Robert Lehner, who left TPD for the Eugene, Oregon police department in the late 1990’s return as the present chief. However, Chief Magnus appears up to the job of continuing Chief Smith’s reform efforts. It is up to each Tucsonan to keep watch over its police department and comment on its failures and successes. To obtain more information on TPD history and its current improvements, feel free to contact me at the Center for the Study of Privacy Rights, P.O. Box 44326, Tucson, AZ 85733; phone: (520) 302-2797; email: wbctrprivrights@gmail.com. Thank you for considering my comment.

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