Thread: Man in LA SWAT Gun Battle Was Illegal Alien

Man in LA SWAT Gun Battle Was Illegal Alien

The man shot by LAPD SWAT officers in a gun battle in which his 19-month-old daughter was also killed was in the United States illegally and had an extensive criminal record, reports KFI-Radio.

According to the Department of Homeland Security Jose Raul Pena had never been in the US legally and was actually deported to El Salvador in 1995 after being arrested for sales of cocaine...

http://newsminute.com/Stories/maning...legalalien.htm

Thanks Newsfox!

ADDED TO THE HOMEPAGE
http://www.alipac.us/article538.html

Man that used baby as shield from LA SWAT was an illegal alien

Another crime that would have never happened in America if we enforced our immigration laws
The man shot by LAPD SWAT officers in a gun battle in which his 19-month-old daughter was also killed was in the United States illegally and had an extensive criminal record, reports KFI-Radio.

(illegal alien, crimes, gangs, drugs, border security, immigrants, la swat team, immigration)

7/16/2005
News Minute

According to the Department of Homeland Security Jose Raul Pena had never been in the US legally and was actually deported to El Salvador in 1995 after being arrested for sales of cocaine.

Pena snuck back into the US in 1996 and has had at least four run-ins with police since then, including two convictions. Each time he could have been convicted and deported but court records show Pena was instead given probation and allowed to stay.

A videotape released Friday shows Jose Raul Pena holding 19-month-old Suzie Marie Pena while shooting at police then going back into the office of his automobile sales business, where he remained holed up during Sunday's standoff.

"As you take a closer look, you will be able to see that he is clearly using the baby as a shield," Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief George Gascon said at an afternoon news conference. "He is stepping out the door. He's shooting at the officers."

"We have indication that he not only said that he wasn't going to be taken alive, but that the baby will die with him," Gascon said.

In total, nine surveillance cameras from Pena's Watts-area business recorded the events as they unfolded, but police only released a minute- long clip of footage.

Police also released photographs of items left at the shooting scene. Among them was the 9mm gun Pena fired at police. The weapon was stolen -- along with 25 rifles, 20 handguns and some computers -- during a 2004 burglary that occurred in Salem, Ore., Gascon said.

In addition, photographs showed a half-empty bottle of tequila on a bookcase and scattered cocaine residue.

Pena's daughter, Suzie Pena, who was killed in the gun battle that police say Pena initiated, using his daughter as a shield against police gunfire, will be buried Saturday amidst rising tensions in the Watts section of Los Angeles.

Here's the LA Times version of the story. It's unbelievable that anyone is protesting what the police did in this situation. It's obvious this guy left them no other choice other than ending the confrontation in a shoot out. If any blame is to be put on authorities it is for not putting Pena in jail and deporting him for his previous crimes. This is the price you pay for creating a sanctuary city for illegals.


http://www.latimes.com

Shooting Cleaves Community
Watts neighborhood is divided over whether the LAPD should share blame in the deaths of Jose Peña and his toddler daughter.
By Natasha Lee and Richard Winton
Times Staff Writers

July 16, 2005

In the Watts neighborhood where police killed a 19-month-old toddler held hostage by her gun-wielding father, neighbors have spent the week agonizing over whether the LAPD should share blame for the painful tragedy.

Many are outraged that the police didn't do more to save Suzie Marie Peña's life before moving in and killing her father, 35-year-old car dealer Jose Raul Peña, catching the child in the cross-fire. Others say there was little else officers could have done Sunday to end the 2 1/2 -hour standoff with Peña, who was caught on security cameras holding the child with one hand while firing on officers with the other.

Nightly street protests in front of a makeshift memorial near the shooting scene at 104th Street and Avalon Boulevard have grown so ugly, community activists have asked the public to stay away.

Fraydra Hartwell, whose 17-year-old daughter ran out of the family room crying when she heard the news, said police should have shown more restraint before endangering the toddler's life.

"Because it was a child. Why did they have to take that child's life?" said Hartwell, 47, who has lived in the community for 19 years. "It's easy for me to choose a side. They could have been more responsible. They are trained professionals."

But Tony Duncan, 49, who works at the Fish Factory, two blocks from the shooting, says the father is solely responsible for his child's death.

"If you're going to put your kid in jeopardy, you have disregard for anyone's life," said Duncan.

Police have not released details about Suzie's death. But they said the stage was set for the shootout early Sunday when Suzie's mother, Lorena Lopez, filed a domestic threats report against Peña with police. Peña later took his 19-month-old daughter to his car lot, where hours later police received a 911 call from Lopez's 16-year-old daughter reporting that her stepfather was threatening her physically.

Police helped the stepdaughter escape, but continued to exchange gunfire with Peña through much of the afternoon before moving in on his makeshift office, where his body and that of his daughter were found. Police rifles killed both Suzie and her father, the Los Angeles County coroner's office reported.

On Friday, further details of the coroner's investigation came out. Suzie, who the coroner previously reported was killed by a single shot to the head, was also wounded "below her left knee and to her outer left calf," said Craig Harvey, a coroner's spokesman, reading from an investigators' report. Harvey cautioned that the finding was preliminary, and that the two apparent leg wounds could have come from a single bullet. The report may change when the autopsy and investigation are finalized.

Suzie was found dressed in a yellow shirt, lavender skirt, lavender sandals and a diaper. Jose Peña was found behind a desk, surrounded by empty casings, an empty 9-millimeter handgun near his left hand.

Also Friday, Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Peña was an undocumented immigrant and had been deported in August 1995 after being convicted of cocaine possession. He returned to country illegally, Kice said.

The neighborhood where the pair died was once predominantly black. Now a mix of blacks and Latino immigrants live there, amid taco stands and signs in Spanish side by side with fish-fry shops, nail salons and black churches.

The shootout came a month before the 40th anniversary of the Watts riots, which erupted not far away at 116th Street and Avalon Boulevard and lasted six days, resulting in 34 deaths. Twenty-seven years later, the 1992 riots, triggered by the acquittal of four LAPD officers in the Rodney King beating, engulfed the city, and shops and grocery stores were looted.

Duncan has lived in Watts since 1963 and said he has seen police become less confrontational and more communicative with residents. The easing of tensions, however, may have given some criminals license to push confrontations with police to the limit, he said.

"Years ago a person would expect that they would get shot. Now gangbangers are getting warnings," he said.

"People got it up in their head that the LAPD ain't hard. He probably expected he wasn't going to get shot because he had his baby in his hand."

Shantail Parker, 30, said the police were just doing their job.

"People have got to understand that the police are here to protect and serve, but they have to protect themselves too. They have families too," she said.

Several people said the officers moved more aggressively than they would have in richer neighborhoods such as Beverly Hills or Brentwood.

"I think that if they were up in Bel-Air, I don't think it would have turned out that way," said Shirley Allen, 47, manager of a beauty supply store. "In Bel-Air they would have tried to talk to the person more."

At Matty's Beauty Supply on the corner of Century and Avalon boulevards, Allen and customers questioned why the SWAT team didn't look for alternatives to halt the standoff.

"They could have used rubber bullets," Allen said.

Some mentioned the police killing of 13-year-old car thief suspect Devin Brown in February, and said law-enforcement violence against young people seemed to be on the upswing.

Belinda Jones, 41, a mother of three sons, said she sympathized with Suzie Peña's mother.

"I want them to handle situations more differently in South Central. It's getting crazy," she said. "We know you have a job to do, but on the same token, you don't have to be so aggressive."

Friday evening, LAPD officials, who spent much of the week attacking Peña's character and actions, called a special community meeting at police headquarters and emphasized that they shared the Lopez family's grief.

"We share the pain the family is experiencing," Asst. Chief George Gascon told a crowd of about 80 to 90 people. "This is something no one wants to see."

Not everyone was persuaded.

Najee Ali, executive director of Project Islamic Hope, a civil rights group, called the police assault on Peña's office "a clear case of negligence."

"They looked at the baby as collateral damage," Ali said.

It's unbelievable that anyone is protesting what the police did in this situation.

Actually, it's not so unbelievable anymore. Sadly so. It's reprehensible, but expected. There was some "civil rights" lawyer on O'Reilly last night making it a race issue.

I admit that cops in big cities patrol Caucasian neighborhoods differently than neighborhoods of color. The difference is this was that this wasn't some harmless black kid getting the snot beat out of him on a routine traffic stop for no reason.

I think Borderless Bush should speak out about this, given the fact that this kid had to die over it and the guy was here illegally. He probably would have been removed if that ICE squad that had detained 4500 criminal aliens in one weekend last year hadn't been "reigned in" by Asa Hutchison. Could you imagine how L.A. would look now if they hadn't been stopped? It would be a night and day difference.

BTW, where is Villaraigosa on this issue? He's the first Hispanic race pimp.[/i]

"They looked at the baby as collateral damage," Ali said.

I guarantee that the cop who shot that kid will never get a decent night's sleep again. What an idiot to come out with a comment like that.

What if he finds out that the cop was Hispanic! I bet that would change his opinion.

"They looked at the baby as collateral damage," Ali said.

Either way, it is sad but who falt is it when you are being fired at and the person with the gun isnt stable? Could anyone blame such a thing? No i dont beleive so, it happenned it was sad and it was the fault of the parent and he did and the LAPD did thier job. Simple as that.

Pro

This is such a red hot story in California. I listened to KFI radio off and on several times today and it seemed this was all they were talking about. It's amazing to hear some of the lunatics calling in condemning the cops for not doing enough to protect the little girl.

Also I heard authorities could have deported Pena at least four other times and failed to do so. This whole fiasco is really stirring everyone up in our state. It obviously is not a positive story for illegal immigration and isn't something that is going to help the pro illegal groups in California.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com

Article published Jul 16, 2005
Funeral held in Watts for toddler killed by police

By PAUL CHAVEZ
Associated Press Writer

Family, friends and sympathetic strangers shared handshakes, hugs and tears Saturday during the funeral service for a 19-month-old toddler killed by police during a shootout with her gun-wielding father.

The Spanish-language funeral service for Suzie Pena drew about 150 people, including new Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, to San Miguel Church in Watts, an area that remains riven by the girl's death.

Protesters have staged nightly demonstrations since the July 10 shooting, heckling police and waving signs calling officers involved in the shooting "baby killers" and murderers.

The toddler was used as a human shield by her father, Jose Pena, 34, who also was killed by police when a SWAT team raided his business following a 2 1/2-hour standoff that left one officer wounded.

Father Jose Valdez Romo told the girl's mother, Lorena Lopez, that her Passion, which relates to Jesus' suffering before his crucifixion death, must be shared through the compassion of family and friends to overcome her sadness.

Romo did not mention the role of police or the girl's father in the toddler's death during the service, but told mourners that people of all nationalities and communities should be treated with respect.

Lopez led the pallbearers who escorted her daughter's small, white casket out of the church. She shakily kept her right hand on it as tears streamed down her face. Lopez's 16-year-old daughter, who escaped from her stepfather during the standoff under the cover of police gunfire, was among the pallbearers.

Outside the church, a Hispanic man shouted "la policia son asesinos" - "the police are assassins" - as the casket passed by.

Villaraigosa, who arrived at the church midway through services, embraced Lopez and her family during the part of the Mass when parishioners greet each other and offer a peace blessing.

"All of us grieve with the family, (who) lost a baby, innocent child," the mayor said after the service.

He called the Watts neighborhood "a good community of hardworking people who struggle every day for a better life and want their leaders to respect them."

Villaraigosa, the city's first Latino mayor in more than a century, also promised a thorough investigation.

"We will do everything possible to make sure we uncover every fact," he said.

Councilman Bernard Parks attended the service with his wife Bobbie. Parks, who represents the area where the shooting occurred, said nightly protests reflected the community's emotions and anxiety.

"Hopefully those energies will stay in a positive light," Parks said. "We have one tragedy and we don't want to see additional tragedies in reaction to this."

Police said that Suzie Pena was only the second hostage to be killed by SWAT team officers in its 38-year history. Members of the special weapons and tactics team, which inspired a 1970s television series and 2003 movie, have been traumatized by the incident and have received counseling, police said.

Juan Carpio, a cousin of the slain gunman, criticized police for critical comments made about Pena after the shooting, which included Police Chief William Bratton calling Pena a "cold-blooded killer." Carpio said Pena's father was en route from El Salvador to bury his son.

They dont even know who shot the child as of yet, and i to have been listening to KFI. These people will do anything to bring it out more than it is and the mexican media are so blowing this out of proporation.

How much you want to bet that if they find it is the guy that did it they will claim its a lie and coverup?

Something needs to be done to deal with this, becuase either way the mexican community will find a reason to riot!

Pro

I thought it was confirmed that the police killed the child, and the father was eliminated as the shooter. However, there is no information available on the identity of the police officer who fired the shot. I think it is clear it was an unfortunate accident by the police department who were trying to stop Pena from hurting or killing anyone. If you have a crazy man firing a gun in the neighborhood you have to do something drastic to take him out. If he wasn't firing then you have the opportunity to negotiate or wait him out.

Also I heard that a communist group had joined the protesters and were trying to incite a violent confrontaion with the police. And it appears many blacks are joing in with the hispanics protesting. They should fence the area off from the rest of the world and just let these people kill each other if they don't want any law enforcement.

Can Jesse Jackson be far behind since Rev. Al has arrived.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... 551D17.DTL

Sharpton urges calm during probe of LA police shooting of toddler
-
Sunday, July 17, 2005


(07-17) 21:45 PDT Los Angeles (AP) --


The Rev. Al Sharpton called on angry residents to have patience Sunday while authorities investigate the death of a 19-month-old toddler killed by police during a shootout with her father.


Addressing a South Los Angeles church congregation that included the girl's mother and sister, Sharpton said some local activists had agreed to suspend protests until the Police Department finished its probe.


"There cannot be a knee-jerk reaction when we will always say the police is right," he said. "There cannot also be a reaction, knee-jerk in the community, saying they're always wrong."


Sharpton spoke a day after the funeral of Suzie Pena, whose father, Jose Pena, 34, also was killed by police when a SWAT team raided his business following a 2 1/2-hour standoff that left one officer wounded.


Activists have staged nightly demonstrations since the July 10 shooting, heckling police and waving signs calling officers involved in the shooting "baby killers."


Sharpton, however, said the incident differed from what he says are previous examples of police misconduct, including the 1991 beating of black motorist Rodney King, because it was unclear who was at fault.


"I take a different posture this time," he said. "We must fight for justice and I think, if we have confidence, the mayor will stand and make sure that will happen."


Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, at the church to comfort the family, joined Sharpton in urging calm.


"We're here today to begin the healing," the mayor said after the service. "To begin the process of saying, as a city, that we are coming together, working together, to allow this process to take place."


Sharpton also sought to promote unity between blacks and Hispanics.


"We are demanding justice, and we will work with the mayor, who is not black, to get justice," he said.