Thread: ACLU Questions State Trooper Over Illegal Alien Arrest

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ACLU Questions State Trooper Over Illegal Alien Arrest
by Jay on 08-08-06 @ 3:48 pm Filed under ACLU, Border Control/Homeland Security, News
This is from the Westerly Sun:

A Rhode Island State Police trooper was following procedure when he asked 14 passengers in a van - all illegal immigrants - to produce identification following a traffic stop on Route 95, state police officials say.

Rhode Island’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union feels differently.

On July 11, at about 6:30 a.m., Trooper Thomas Chabot pulled a van over because the driver allegedly failed to use his turn signal while switching lanes on Interstate 95, said State Police spokesman Maj. Steven O’Donnell.

After Chabot spoke with the driver, O’Donnell said the trooper asked all the passengers in the van for identification. When none of them could produce a driver’s license, he questioned the passengers, who told him they were in the country illegally, O’Donnell said.

The trooper then called Immigration and Customs Enforcement and escorted the van to ICE headquarters in Providence. All of the illegal immigrants are awaiting deportation hearings, said O’Donnell.

So the State Trooper did his job and as a result we have 14 individuals that have no respect for our laws being deported. I can’t see what the problem is, but the ACLU are quick to the scene.

The ACLU, however, has since complained that the trooper didn’t have just cause to ask the passengers in the van for identification and may have been practicing racial profiling when he stopped the van..

“It’s hard to understand why a state trooper who was on radar patrol would go out of his way to stop a van solely for failure to put on a turn signal. If troopers did that everyday on Route 95, they wouldn’t have time to stop anybody for speeding,” said Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. “That at least raises a suspicion that the appearance of the driver or then passengers led to the stop.”

I’ve been pulled over for reasons just as petty as this before and can asssure you that in my case it had nothing to do with race. The race card has become a catch all in today’s times to contest the results of anything and everything one doesn’t like the result of. The liberals are always too eager to pull this one out of their hat. In all likelyhood this group was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The ACLU are most likely barking up the wrong tree with their complaint that the officer asked everyone for their identifications. Precedent doesn’t seem to be on the ACLU’s side for this accusation as the article states…

“In 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruled that for the safety of the officers, it’s incumbent on them to know who they’re dealing with when they stop a car,” O’Donnell said. “The court ruling establishes that police can ask passengers for identification during a traffic stop.”

The ACLU has further allegations including a claim that the officer threatened to shoot anyone that tried to escape while being escorted to ICE headquarters. However the officer is confident that video of the stop will show this claim as false. He also points out that none of the illegals involved in the stop have filed a formal complaint. It seems the only people complaints are second hand and they are from the ACLU.

Ah well, a complaint about the deportation of illegal aliens from an organization that lobbies for completely open borders shouldn’t come as much of a suprise.

http://www.thewesterlysun.com/articles/ ... /news3.txt

RICHMOND 1-95 STOP STIRS ACLU QUESTIONS

By Brian Quinlan - The Sun Staff
RICHMOND - A Rhode Island State Police trooper was following procedure when he asked 14 passengers in a van - all illegal immigrants - to produce identification following a traffic stop on Route 95, state police officials say.

Rhode Island's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union feels differently.

On July 11, at about 6:30 a.m., Trooper Thomas Chabot pulled a van over because the driver allegedly failed to use his turn signal while switching lanes on Interstate 95, said State Police spokesman Maj. Steven O'Donnell.

After Chabot spoke with the driver, O'Donnell said the trooper asked all the passengers in the van for identification. When none of them could produce a driver's license, he questioned the passengers, who told him they were in the country illegally, O'Donnell said.

The trooper then called Immigration and Customs Enforcement and escorted the van to ICE headquarters in Providence. All of the illegal immigrants are awaiting deportation hearings, said O'Donnell.

The ACLU, however, has since complained that the trooper didn't have just cause to ask the passengers in the van for identification and may have been practicing racial profiling when he stopped the van..

"It's hard to understand why a state trooper who was on radar patrol would go out of his way to stop a van solely for failure to put on a turn signal. If troopers did that everyday on Route 95, they wouldn't have time to stop anybody for speeding," said Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. "That at least raises a suspicion that the appearance of the driver or then passengers led to the stop."

Further, Brown said the police officer had "absolutely no suspicion of illegal activity" and didn't have a good reason to ask passengers for identification.

O'Donnell said, however, that Chabot was only following procedure and acted in accordance with the law.

"In 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruled that for the safety of the officers, it's incumbent on them to know who they're dealing with when they stop a car," O'Donnell said. "The court ruling establishes that police can ask passengers for identification during a traffic stop."

The ACLU further alleges that the trooper threatened to shoot anyone who tried to escape while being escorted to ICE headquarters. O'Donnell, however, said that all motor vehicle stops by state police are on video and that "nothing in the video would indicate that the claim is accurate."

Furthermore, O'Donnell said none of the people involved in the traffic stop have come forward to file a complaint and that the only complaints are coming from "second hand or third hand parties."

Brown said the ACLU has not filed a formal complaint.

"(It's up to the people who are involved in the stop to make a complaint," he said.

I have as Lou Dobbs would say, "had a bellyful" of the Absolutely Communist Liberal Union!!!

DOWN WITH THE ACLU....NOW!

ACLU needs to be abolished big time. What a worthless bunch.

The really bad thing about them is "they work on our dollar" tax dollars fund them. If there is anything that I really actively hate it is the ACLU, esp their front man, don't know his name but he is the one on all the talk shows, this is an angry man who needs anger management classes, I cam onlyhope he pops a blood vessell someday whey he is so upset and practically screaming at everyone! The world or our world would be a much better place without him.

Nitty, you are correct. That is the main fact about the ACLU that just burns me up. More wasted tax dollars.

The really bad thing about them is "they work on our dollar" tax dollars fund them.

I got a fund raising letter from the ACLU last year. It said something to the effect, that they though I was the "type" of person who would support the ACLU. It went on to bash the "religious right" and conservatives in general. They enclosed a postage paid envelope for me to send my donation. I used their postage paid envelope to send them a Christmas card.

For some reason, I haven't back from them.

WavTek
You are my hero for the day I would have loved to see their anger pinched faces when they got a look at your christmas card . I think these people are really sick, they are not trying to prevent church and state from getting mixed together, they are trying to aniliate God and all religioius things from our society, they are making a very good start at doing just that here in America!

http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo ... a4d66.html

State police to review trooper's role in immigration case

As a result of a traffic stop last month in Richmond, 14 people face deportation, and the ACLU has filed a complaint against Trooper Thomas Chabot.


01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, August 19, 2006

BY KAREN LEE ZINER
Journal Staff Writer


The Rhode Island State Police will review a trooper's actions during a July 11 traffic stop on Route 95 in Richmond, when he detained 14 people who he suspected were in the country illegally, a state police spokesman said.

The internal investigation stems from a complaint the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union filed this week, on behalf of 11 of the 14 people involved, said Maj. Steven O'Donnell.

The ACLU took the case after the driver and several passengers alleged during a Providence news conference last month that Trooper Thomas Chabot overstepped his authority by taking immigration enforcement into his own hands.

They also alleged that Chabot threatened to shoot anyone who tried to escape the van that morning as it was escorted to the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office in Providence.

The traffic stop occurred at 6:30 a.m. near Exit 4 south, where Chabot was posted at a speed checkpoint. Chabot's report states that he pulled the van's driver over for failing to signal a lane change.

After the driver provided a license and ID, Chabot asked the passengers for identification, his report states. When only a few could do so, he then "asked if any of them had immigration credentials proving their U.S. citizenship."

None did. Chabot contacted ICE authorities, and he and another trooper escorted the van to the ICE office on Dyer Avenue in Providence. The 14 were found to be in the country illegally, and they now face deportation.

Astrid and Wendy Cabrera, the complainants seeking the investigation, allege racial profiling by Chabot, whom they identify as "Trooper 19."

"We believe that our van was pulled over, at least in part, because of our ethnicity. As passengers, we also object that we were required to provide identification and asked about our immigration status, even though we had done nothing wrong. We do not think the trooper had any right to force us to go to ICE headquarters. We believe we were treated unfairly."

The Cabreras allege that Chabot told the driver he was responsible for making sure no one left the van on its way to ICE headquarters in Providence, "and that if anyone tried to escape, they would be shot at."

The ACLU is seeking the internal review "because we find the incident as described in the complaint quite troubling," said Steven Brown, executive director. Brown has also called the traffic stop "an egregious case of racial profiling, from beginning to end."

The complaint also seeks clarification of state police policies, particularly with regard to how that department cooperates or collaborates with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

O'Donnell said yesterday that a preliminary review of the matter did not corroborate the Cabreras' account of the incident, particularly with regard to Chabot's alleged threat to shoot anyone who tried to escape the van.

"You should know, we take any allegation, and I stress allegation, seriously but our preliminary investigation did not bear any fruit, particularly regarding these threats," O'Donnell said.

That was based in part on a review of the in-car video that was taped during the incident, O'Donnell said. He added, however, that some of the audio portion of that tape is inaudible, "and again, that's something we'll let the inspector look at and investigate."

State police will forward to the ACLU anything that is public record regarding the incident, but that does not include the videotape.

Under department policy, "tapes are not public record," O'Donnell said. "They are for law-enforcement purposes only."

An inspector with the professional standards unit will conduct the investigation. That will include an interview with the Cabreras, O'Donnell said.

Chabot remains on duty, he said.

"Anybody has a right to file a complaint; it doesn't mean it has merit. We don't react by disciplining someone where it's an allegation." That is different from, for example, situations where a trooper is suspended from duty pending investigation of a suspect's shooting, O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell said the investigation will be conducted "as quickly as possible."