Thread: NC: Sanctuary city PD acused of profiling hispanics

By BriAnne Dopart : The Herald-Sun
bdopart@heraldsun.com
Feb 10, 2008

DURHAM -- Daniel Ayala believes that if he was not Hispanic and had blond hair and blue eyes, he never would have been targeted and harassed by police officers in front of his Monmouth Avenue home this week.

His version of rude, intimidating behavior by men in blue touched off a furor among his Old North Durham neighbors.

Ayala's story, posted by a neighbor on the Old North Durham message board, started a flurry of threads. Some writers defended the police tactics. Others gave accounts similar in detail to Ayala's.

One resident posted a message she'd received from District Two Capt. Larry Smith saying that he would look into the matter, had already reached out to the squad working, and would try to find out more when the officers returned to work.

Police spokeswoman Kammie Michael confirmed that Smith was looking into the matter.

Ayala says he was fixing the cigarette lighter in his car, which was directly in front of his yard, about 5 or 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. He said an officer drove by, spotted him and pulled up alongside his car.

"When I saw him, I thought maybe I accidentally set off my house alarm," Ayala said, or that maybe police were looking for someone or something and needed to speak with him. As Ayala began to move around his car to speak with the officer, the officer demanded to know what was going on.

"I said, 'I just want to know what's happening,' but he said that he was the one who asks the questions, not me," Ayala said. "At that point, I thought I was in trouble."

The officer demanded Ayala's identification, which the 37-year-old restaurant employee and student had in his pocket. But Ayala said he hesitated because he didn't want to make any quick moves.

"I told him I was in my front yard, and I'd done nothing wrong. ... He told me that if I didn't show him my ID, he'd take it to the next level."

The next level, the officer said after Ayala asked, involved calling the officer's supervisor.

Thinking that might defuse the situation, Ayala agreed to calling in the supervisor. A second officer quickly arrived on Monmouth AvenueStreet.

"The first officer accused me of not liking police. I said, 'I do, I do like police.' He said I didn't want to empty my pockets because I had something in there I didn't want them to see. I said that I'd empty my pockets if the officer apologized for trying to intimidate me.

"I told him I do like police and that I was a supporter of the Policeman's Protective Fund, and I pointed to the sticker on my car. He then said I was a disgrace to the Policeman's Protective Fund. I looked at his supervisor and said, 'I hope you heard what he just said to me,' but [the supervisor] just rolled his eyes."

An immigrant from Central America who lived in Carrboro before moving to Durham about five or six years ago, Ayala wasn't as surprised as he was angered and offended by the officers' conduct. He said he thought he was targeted because he was Hispanic.

Ayala said he was convinced of that because, even after he'd provided the first officer with the identification he was seeking, the officer continued to tell him that he was acting suspiciously and hinted that Ayala was hiding something from him.

Attempts to reach Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez for comment were unsuccessful.

"The complaint is under investigation," Michael said in a written release. "According to Chief Lopez, it would not be prudent to comment on an ongoing investigation until all the facts have been determined."

http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-923443.cfm

Of course they don't mention if this guy is illegal or not...just an immigrant. I thought it was standard procedure for the cops to ask for ID when they encounter someone suspicious. These people are playing the race card to avoid the cops. No cops=no deportation.