ESCONDIDO: Checkpoint supporters to rally

Demonstration set for Thursday at Escondido City Hall

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com
Posted: April 12, 2010 4:31 pm

ESCONDIDO ---- A rally in support of the Escondido police department's frequent traffic checkpoints is scheduled for Thursday, organizers said.

The demonstration is being organized by a grassroots group called Citizens of Escondido for Road Safety, which says that the checkpoints are helping to make the city's streets safer.

"This is just about supporting law and order," said Patricia Bennett, the group's leader.

Bennett said the checkpoints have helped reduce the number of hit-and-run crashes in the city by a third in the last four years.

Police Chief Jim Maher has defended the department's checkpoint policy in the face of criticism from civil rights and Latino activists. They say traffic stops disproportionately affect Latino immigrants.

Bill Flores, an Escondido resident and spokesman for the North County-based civil rights organization El Grupo, said there is no direct evidence that the checkpoints have helped reduce the number of hit and runs.

One thing is clear, Flores said, they have helped drive a wedge in the community.

"It's not that we feel it's OK to be driving without a license," he said. "We feel that this police tactic is nonproductive, cruel and divisive."

Bennett said she believes most Escondidans feel the way she does. Her group has collected more than 1,300 signatures in support of the checkpoints and the police chief.

Thursday's rally coincides with anti-tax tea party demonstrations in the region, including one in Escondido.

Bennett said she plans to have her rally from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in front of City Hall at 201 N. Broadway. The city's tea party event takes place just a few blocks away starting at 5 p.m. at the post office on Escondido Boulevard.

However, she underscored that the checkpoint rally is nothing more than a show of support for the practice.

Bennett said she formed the road safety group about four years ago after a police officer told her there was increasing criticism about the checkpoints.

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511 760-740-3511.

NORTH COUNTY TIMES