Thread: Cop Killer Had Been Arrested Eight Times

Police killing puts focus on illegal immigrant crime

The Business Journal of Phoenix - 12:06 PM MST Thursday, September 20, 2007
by Mike Sunnucks
The Business Journal

Monday's murder of a Phoenix police officer by an illegal immigrant from Mexico has heightened debate over undocumented residents and crime.

Phoenix Police officer Nick Erlie was shot and killed by Erik Jovani Martinez, an illegal who previously was deported and had an arrest warrant. Martinez was shot and killed by police after taking a hostage. He had been arrested eight times.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said the incident stems from the federal government's failure to secure the border. "Three thousand Phoenix police officers are risking their lives and doing their jobs. Officer Nick Erfle sacrificed his life, and did his job. Now to all of you in Washington, when are you going to do your job and secure this border?"

Immigration hawks -- including activist and Valley car dealer Rusty Childress and talk radio hosts -- criticize Gordon, Gov. Janet Napolitano, State Attorney General Terry Goddard and others claiming they are not tough enough on border issues. They say Phoenix and other police departments do not check the immigration status of those being arrested.

Various reports suggest that some of the 500,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona and 12 million illegals in the U.S. are part of organized gangs, smuggling rings and drug cartels.

A 2005 U.S. Government Accountability Office study looked at 55,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records and found that they had been arrested an average of eight times. Forty-five percent of the arrests were on immigration and drug charges; 12 percent were for violent crimes.

Illegals represent about 8 percent of Arizona's population and the Arizona Department of Corrections reports that Mexican nationals make up 12 percent of the state's 37,200-inmate prison population. The DOC numbers do not distinguish whether they are in the U.S. legally or illegally.

The conservative Federation for Immigration Reform contends that while illegal immigrants make up 3 percent of the total U.S. population they make up 4.5 percent of the prison population. A study by the more liberal Immigration Policy Center, however, found incarceration rates among young men are lowest for immigrants.

"This holds especially true for the Mexicans, Guatemalans who make up the bulk of the undocumented population," said the IPC report which analyzed census and crime data.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stor ... ily46.html

It broke my heart to see this in the news. What a Loss and how many times will we have to hear the same story. The vast majority of crimes, DUI's to MURDER, reported on our local news, are usually committed by hispanic gang members or illegals!

He had been arrested eight times.

Sounds about the same for how many times they are going to try and pass amnesty!

This police office had battled cancer and refused a desk job after recuperating and wanted to be back in the field. He won a medal for placing himself between an armed guy with an AK-47 and children in a school. He was a married man with two children. He was quite handsome could have been a model. Should have been our government doesn't deserve men like him.

And here's the link about this in Discussions too.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=83742