Thread: Man says police target Latinos at checkpoints

http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3425800

Article Last Updated: 1/22/2006 01:16 AM


Man says police target Latinos at checkpoints
Activist upset 273 citations for Latino drivers
By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

ONTARIO - The results of a traffic checkpoint held by Ontario police have prompted one activist to accuse the city and police department of racial discrimination.
Virgil Pina was among those stopped during the Nov. 9 checkpoint on Holt Boulevard. Though police let him go after confirming his driver's license was valid, Pina noted many of the cars that had been stopped were driven by Latinos.

Concerned, he requested information from the city about the drivers who were cited or whose cars were impounded that day. The results, Pina said, were "surreal."

"It's beyond belief the amount of Hispanics whose vehicles were taken," he said. "All you see on the list ... is Gonzalez, Fernandez, Cervantes, Gomez."

According to the information provided to Pina, 286 cars were impounded that day. On the list of drivers' names, all but 34 were Latino surnames. Additionally, of the 323 citations issued, 273 went to Latino drivers.

That means 88 percent of cars impounded were driven by Latinos, and 85 percent of tickets issued went to Latinos. The city's population is 60 percent Latino, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

"What really gets me upset is before I got that information, I had an assurance, a verbal assurance from the city ... that there was no discrimination," Pina said.

But that's exactly how Lt. John Evans of the Ontario Police Department described the operation -- nondiscriminatory.

The police conduct the checkpoints regularly, Evans said, in order to catch people who are driving without a valid license. It could be drivers whose licenses have been suspended or taken away by a judge, or others who never passed the driving test to begin with.

Though officers conducting the checkpoint don't stop every car that passes by, Evans said the driver's race isn't taken into account during the operation.

"Unlicensed drivers cause accidents," he said. "If you don't have a license and you're driving a vehicle, we take the vehicle and write you a ticket."

Police departments in California typically don't get involved in the enforcement of immigration laws, and Evans said the operation had nothing to do with tracking down undocumented aliens.

Still, it's concerns such as those raised by Pina that motivated state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, to propose legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain valid driver's licenses in the same manner as citizens and legal residents.

"The senator for years has been working to advocate for legislation that would allow all California drivers, regardless of their immigration status, to be able to be trained, licensed and tested," said Cedillo's spokeswoman, Shannon Murphy. "This would make California's streets and highways safer."

Many undocumented immigrants are already driving without licenses, Cedillo has said, and giving them the opportunity to be tested and to obtain insurance would improve traffic safety.

Cedillo's legislation has had an up-and-down life in Sacramento, failing several times before Gov. Gray Davis signed it in late 2003 -- only to be repealed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger just days after he ousted Davis in the recall election.

Had it been in place when Ontario conducted its checkpoint, Murphy said, some of those drivers who are now inconvenienced by losing their cars might have been spared the penalty.

Pina -- a former human rights commissioner in Chula Vista -- said he's disappointed both by the Police Department's actions and the city's response. He sent letters to the City Council but received no calls or reaction from any elected officials.

He plans to protest outside City Hall soon and has contacted other activist groups for support.

"The numbers speak volumes," Pina said, "and I have made what I strongly believe to be a fair conclusion (based on) that info."

A Nov. 9 traffic checkpoint in Ontario ended with 323 drivers receiving citations. It stopped westbound cars at 1206 W. Holt Blvd. Of those who received citations:

• 273 were Latino

• 18 were white

• 17 were black

• 3 were Asian

• 12 were identified as other

Out of 286 vehicles towed, 252 had been driven by motorists with Latino surnames.

Source: Ontario Police Department

Mason Stockstill can be reached by e-mail at mason.stockstill@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9354.

I hope Mr. Pina will check back and let everyone know how many of the 273 "latino's" sited bother to show up for their court dates and/or pay their fines.

Kudo's to the Ontario police department! Keep up the good work!

Many undocumented immigrants are already driving without licenses, Cedillo has said, and giving them the opportunity to be tested and to obtain insurance would improve traffic safety.

Not as well as taking their cars and impounding them, I love this idea. It should be implemented in every state in America. Illegal or no drivers license, NO CAR!!

Originally Posted by Darlene

Many undocumented immigrants are already driving without licenses, Cedillo has said, and giving them the opportunity to be tested and to obtain insurance would improve traffic safety.

Not as well as taking their cars and impounding them, I love this idea. It should be implemented in every state in America. Illegal or no drivers license, NO CAR!!

I'd sure go along with that.