North Charleston murder fits pattern of Latino targeted crim

Cleve Bryan
Published: March 6, 2009

The death of Orlando Benitez Martinez may be yet another case of Latinos targeted due to racial stereotypes.

Detective Cpl David Watson is the North Charleston Police Departments Hispanic Liaison and says there are 2 very specific reasons why Latinos are targeted for crime. Starting with the stereotype most Latinos are illegal immigrants, thieves believe they carry cash and won’t report crimes.

“Banks require you to have some sort of identification that illegals lack, so they keep their money on them,“ says Watson. So many times criminals looking to make some fast cash think they’ll find wads of it in the pockets of Latino men.

According to police Benitez Martinez was approached by 3 teens for money, then shot him in the back when he refused. They then took his wallet.

Watson says the second reason Latinos are targeted is the belief they won’t report crimes. This is due to language barriers and for illegals the fear of deportation.

“They need to know when there’s a crime we are there to make them safe and to get them medical attention if they need it,“says Watson, “What we’ll ask them is about what happened, not about their legal status or if they have documents.“

A Victim Advocate as well as detective, Watson says there is legal protection for even illegal immigrants if they are victims in a case that goes to court. He says the Hispanic Community needs more education about these issues so they stop becoming victims so often.

N. Charleston Police have not labeled Benitez Martinez death a hate crime, but with it’s racially targeted appearance some Hispanic Community leaders disagree. “You don’t need spray paint for a hate crime, a gun shot says it all,“ says Diana Salazar a community activist and legal interpreter.

According to the F.B.I. about 62 percent of all race related hate crimes are against Latinos. The number of victims rose 40 percent from 2003 to 2007.

Salazar says more outreach needs to be done for education and she would like more municipalities to have bi-lingual 9-1-1 Emergency operators to help in the process of reporting crime.

http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/ ... ime/21716/

I wonder if Salazar is willing to pay for the services he thinks N. Charleston should offer?

It is interesting that everywhere this population goes crime and the standard of living dramatially goes down.

I'm confused here. How do they know this guy was not shot by other hispanics who were trying to rob him? Was someone already arrested for this crime? Do they have a suspect? Why are they even mentioning the issue of hate?

I do not advocate violence against anyone. However, why is it when a hispanic is killed by someone of another race( during the commission of a robbery in this case so it seems) it's automatically assumed to be a hate crime. Yet when hispanics rape, rob and murder those of another race, the allegation of hate is rarely raised?

Double standard?