Thread: Mesa immigration sweep to continue this evening

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June 26, 2008 - 8:26PM
Mesa immigration sweep to continue this evening
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From Staff Reports
Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies fanned out across Mesa Thursday in a sweep targeting illegal immigrants and other criminal activity.

View Mesa sweep slideshow

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Sheriff Arpaio plans to sweep Mesa on Thursday


The sheriff's office refused to release any information about the sweeps Thursday evening, when the day's operation wrapped up. Officials wouldn't say where the deputies were patrolling or how many stops had been made.


But while deputies were ostensibly pulling over drivers and protesters were sweltering in 100-plus degree heat, two of the Valley's top law enforcement officials held dueling news conferences to criticize each other's actions and attitudes.

At 4 p.m., Sheriff Joe Arpaio, speaking from his downtown Phoenix office, accused Mesa police Chief George Gascón of working to undermine the sweeps, primarily by leaking Arpaio's plans to the media, something Gascón has denied.

"This police chief, the last two days, has been going public talking about our operation - not his," Arpaio said.

Arpaio said he notified Gascón of the operation simply as a courtesy - something he does not plan to do again.

The sheriff said he changed the location of his command center to thwart Gascón and protesters.

At 5:15 p.m., Gascón, standing near dozens of demonstrators at the county court complex on Lewis Drive in Mesa, told reporters he was not interested in where the deputies were operating or what they were doing - only in keeping the peace among the demonstrators.

He said Arpaio did not provide Mesa police with any details of the operations even though Mesa stationed a commander with the deputies.

Gascón said he would be concerned if Arpaio conducted more operations in Mesa without giving local police advance notice.

"I think he's speaking out of anger today," Gascón said. "I'm disappointed. I've been in this profession a long time and I've never experienced this kind of behavior from a law enforcement officer."

Arpaio said he sent more than 100 deputies and armed volunteer posse members to carry out the sweep. Deputies on the sweep were from the Human Smuggling Unit and other special details, not regular patrol officers, Lt. Edmund Shepherd said.


The sheriff will continue the operation on Friday.

Mesa police deployed 131 officers to the area near Lewis and Baseline Road. Officers with the mobile field force stayed near the demonstrators and tactical units were placed in hidden locations. Some officers were stationed on top of the court building. Dozens of bike officers and patrol officers helped people in and out of the area.

"We also have some undercover officers looking for some flash points out there," said Cmdr. Steve Stahl. "The only issues we have are communication issues."

Officers from Tempe, Chandler and the state Department of Public Safety also were on the scene to assist as needed.

Gascón said he was happy with the way Mesa police were handling the situation, one they had prepared for since witnessing prior sweeps in Phoenix and Guadalupe.

"As you can tell, the operation is a successful one," he said. "We believe this is a marked difference from what occurred in Guadalupe and Phoenix. The sheriff's office is able to conduct their operation and do it safely."

About 200 protesters turned out to demonstrate against the sweep.

Sitting under a portable tent, Jennie Castloman, of Mesa's Pueblo de Dios church, said the sweep has left some Mesa residents hungry because people did not show up to pick up food boxes today. Normally, the church at 59th Street and Horne distributes food to more than 200 families every Thursday.


"He's not doing his job," she said of Arpaio. "He's hurting our people."

About a dozen people showed up to support the sheriff. Most of the groups turning out in the past stayed away, saying they didn't want to create an unsafe situation.

Richard Ingebreitsen, 65, carried an American flag. He said he's tired of illegal immigrants taking the jobs of blue-collar workers in America. He said he supports legal immigration as long as people become citizens.

The U.S. Justice Department also planned to be on hand to monitor the strong racial and ethnic tensions that are expected to come with the sweeps, said Ryan Breitenbach, special counsel for the Justice Department's Community Relations Service.

A regional director, Ronald Wakabayashi, was to act as an independent mediator and observer, not as an investigator, Breitenbach said.

"We take no sides as to any of the arguments being made because we are neutral," said Breitenbach. "But we will try to hammer out some type of agreement that has no law enforcement power."

The state attorney general's office also expected to have special investigators at the scene to assist the Mesa Police Department, not investigate the sweeps, said office spokeswoman Andrea Esquer.

Esquer would not say how many investigators would be there or what, specifically, their role would be.

Two groups among the sheriff's most vocal supporters at similar sweeps earlier this year in Phoenix and Guadalupe said their members would stay out of today's events.

On a posting late Wednesday on the site www.immigrationbuzz.com, a local hub for anti-illegal immigration activists, the group Riders United for a Sovereign America posted a statement saying they, too, will sit out the protests.

The heated mixture of protests and counterprotests has made many in Mesa fearful that violence could result during the sweeps.

The head of the city's main police union released a statement Thursday morning reiterating that fear.

"I am scared for our front-line officers, as well as MCSO officers," said Sgt. Fabian Cota, president of the Mesa Police Association. "The publicity surrounding these operations creates a potential for violence by the gathering of passionate militia groups and endangers the very communities the sheriff seeks to protect."

In past sweeps, Arpaio ordered deputies and posse members to flood specific - and often heavily Hispanic - areas of the Valley, stopping people for any type of civil or criminal violation they could find, no matter how small.

Tribune writers Mary K. Reinhart and Eddi Trevizo contributed to this report

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http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/119424

Keep up the GREAT work sherriff Joe!!!
JBG

This explains Gascon's arrogant anti-law enforcement stance against Arpaio....

Chief George Gascón

Police Chief George Gascón took lead of the Mesa Police Department in August 2006. Prior to his move to Mesa, Arizona, Chief Gascón proudly served the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for more than 28 years. In his final assignment before joining the Mesa Police Department, Gascón served as LAPD's Assistant Police Chief and Director over the Office of Operations.

Gascón was appointed to the LAPD in April 1978, where he served as an officer until 1981, when he left the department to pursue a career in business management while volunteering his time as a reserve officer. Gascón returned to law enforcement full-time in April 1987, and quickly moved through the ranks of the LAPD where he served as an Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, Deputy Chief and Assistant Police Chief.

Chief Gascón received a B.A. degree in History from California State University, Long Beach, and a Juris Doctor Degree from Western State University, College of Law. He is an active member of the California Bar Association.

http://www.cityofmesa.org/police/police_chief.aspx

Poor little fellar is the product of L.A.'s Special Order 40 affliction and was indoctrinated into believing that the Southwest is Aztlan by the notorious "education" provided at all Cal State Universities. Hummm...he has a JD degree, you'd think he'd have read about Obstruction of Justice. If he is leaking info out about Arpaio's sweep plans, Gascon would be guilty of that. It would seem the PD would want to work side by side with the Sheriff's office. Oh well, Gascon was educated on the corrupt and lawless streets of L.A. it seems, so that explains his arrogant audacity toward Sheriff Arpaio.