Thread: ESCONDIDO, CA : Police impound 72 vehicles at checkpoint

ESCONDIDO: Police impound 72 vehicles at checkpoint

Numbers increasing as checkpoints continue

By CHRIS NICHOLS - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 22, 2008 9:33 PM PST

ESCONDIDO ---- Police impounded 72 vehicles ---- one of the highest totals in recent months ---- during a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Friday night, an Escondido Police Department report states.

The total was much higher than two recent Escondido checkpoints, Nov. 10 and Oct. 25, where 33 and 45 vehicles were impounded, respectively.

The use of driver's license checkpoints has come under fire lately by North County civil rights groups, many from the Latino community. Many call them unjust and a ploy to inspect drivers' immigration status.

Roughly 200 people at a Nov. 15 demonstration at Grape Day Park protested the city's use of driver's license checkpoints. Other people have supported the department's use of the checkpoints, saying they help remove unsafe drivers from the road.

Friday's checkpoint ran from 6:30 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Saturday at Valley Parkway and Juniper Street.

Of 1,832 vehicles screened, 110 were sent to a secondary checkpoint after drivers could not produce a license or appeared under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Three drivers were arrested for driving under the influence. One was arrested for possession of illegal drugs and another was arrested for a felony warrant, the report said.

Among the drivers of the 72 vehicles impounded, 68 did not have a license,19 did not have automobile insurance and eight had a suspended license.

Escondido police conduct the separate driver's license checkpoints (not necessarily targeted at DUI drivers) about twice a month.

Police officials maintain that both types of checkpoints bolster traffic safety, saying studies have linked unlicensed drivers to a greater percentage of traffic accidents.

Critics contend the license checkpoints are unjust and disproportionately affect working-class, immigrant Latinos, many of whom are ineligible under state law to get driver's licenses because of their status as illegal immigrants.

Contact staff writer Chris Nichols at (760) 740-5426 or cnichols@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/11 ... 0401bb.txt

By CHRIS NICHOLS - Staff Writer
Saturday, November 15, 2008 10:53 PM PST

ESCONDIDO ---- About 200 people attended a candlelight vigil Saturday at Grape Day Park to protest the Escondido Police Department's use of driver's license checkpoints.

Rights activists, many from the Latino community, spoke out against the checkpoints, which they called unjust and a ploy to check immigration status.

"The intimidation has to stop ---- we all want peace," boomed the voice of Evi Quinn, a member of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, as attendees held candles and formed a prayer circle in the park.

"There is no way we are going to stand by silently and not raise our voices for those who are oppressed," she said.

Escondido police say the checkpoints bolster traffic safety. They are not used to check immigration status, Escondido police Sgt. Doug Sams said.

"We do not do that," Sams added. "We are not immigration authorities. We don't care what their immigration status is. All we look for is their driver's license status and are they DUI drivers."

About 10 people held a counter-protest at the park.

Several were members of the Escondido Minuteman Brigade, an anti-illegal-immigrant group.

Despite a few heated words between the groups, there were no fights or arrests during the event, police said.

As vigil attendees walked south through the park, carrying candles and protest signs, a member of the Minuteman Brigade shouted his support for law enforcement.

"Thank you, EPD! Thank you, Border Patrol! Thank you, (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)! ---- you're number one!" he shouted, as Escondido police stood between the two groups.

Since the checkpoints started, hit-and-run collisions and drunken driving arrests have dropped in Escondido, Sams noted. He added that the checkpoints are conducted in all parts of the city.

Police contact immigration authorities only if a warrant requires them to, Sams said.

He cited a case at a September checkpoint, where an individual was arrested on an outstanding warrant for illegally re-entering the country after being deported.

Contact staff writer Chris Nichols at (760) 740-5426 or cnichols@nctimes.com

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/11 ... ogcomments

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-138287-escondido.html

Look what it costs to get your car towed

http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/info/tow/form.pdf


Keep up the good work ESCONDIDO Police dept

Originally Posted by jimpasz

Look what it costs to get your car towed

http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/info/tow/form.pdf


Keep up the good work ESCONDIDO Police dept

Thanks jimpasz,

I can use information like that.

R/ Skip

Family of Brothers Killed In Crash Argue over Organ Donations

Family of Brothers Killed In Crash Argue over Organ Donations

Watch Video Last Updated:
11-24-08 at 7:17AM

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that relatives of a Chula Vista teenager killed in an apparent drunken driving crash are considering taking legal action to stop the boy's foster parents from donating his organs.

Otay Ranch High School senior Jason Spickerman, 16, was declared brain dead Saturday afternoon at Scripps Mercy Hospital after being injured in a crash late Friday night, Chula Vista police said. A second brother riding in the same vehicle was also killed.

Spickerman was a passenger in a car hit by a pickup truck driven by a man who was apparently drunk, police said.

Christian Balboa, 28, who identified himself as the eldest of Spickerman's four brothers, said he and other relatives have pleaded with the victim's foster parents not to donate his organs, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The foster parents initially said they would respect the family's wishes but changed their mind hours later, Balboa told the newspaper.

Spickerman's foster parents could not be reached for comment, according to the Union-Tribune.

Balboa, who refused to comment on why his brother was in foster care, said he may seek a court order today to stop the donation, the newspaper reported.

Spickerman's 18-year-old brother, Daniel Spickerman, died at Rady Children's Hospital about three hours after the crash, which occurred at Main Street and Brandywine Avenue in Chula Vista.

The Spickerman brother who was driving the car was treated at a hospital and released, according to police.

The pickup driver, 31-year-old Enrique Coronado, ran from the scene but was caught a short distance away, police said.

Coronado was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, felony hit-and-run and being an unlicensed driver -- and a murder count could be added following an investigation, according to police.

http://www.cbs8.com/stories/story.147096.html

Originally Posted by jimpasz

Look what it costs to get your car towed :lol:

http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/info/tow/form.pdf


Keep up the good work ESCONDIDO Police dept

PLUS
To get your car out of police impound you must have:
proof of ownership
proof of insurance
proof of a valid drivers license

They will get a bunch more cars before Jan. 2, 2009 because they always go after DUI drivers for the holidays.