Thread: Pittsburgh police encounter with Hispanics riles group

Pittsburgh police encounter with Hispanics riles group
By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 26, 2007

A Pittsburgh immigrant rights coalition demanded Monday to meet with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl about a confrontation last week between a Pittsburgh police officer and several Hispanic immigrants.
Forty members of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network gathered in front of his office to talk about the encounter, and to request an immigrant-friendly policy for hiring and law enforcement practices, but Ravenstahl was out of town yesterday.

"He committed in front of about 1,000 people last year that he would meet with us in January 2007 to begin talking about an immigrant-friendly policy, but we haven't met with him directly (since then)," said Scott Fabean, the group's vice president.

Fabean said his group has met recently with Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, city police Chief Nate Harper and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.

One of PIIN's members, Alfonso Barquera, 40, of Beechview, said a police officer stopped a car in which he was riding Wednesday in the North Side and swore at the driver, a Hispanic woman with an international driver's license.
Barquera, a native of Mexico, said the officer called the driver and others in the car "illegals," even though they are in the country legally.

"This city was made by immigrants," said Barquera, a paralegal who has lived in Pittsburgh for 10 years. "We are experiencing a lot of bad attitudes, especially from police."

Harper said his officers "are not profiling ethnicities."

If anyone believes their rights have been violated, they have the right to file a complaint with the police bureau or the Citizens Police Review Board.

Barquera said he intends to file a complaint.

Ravenstahl Chief of Staff Yarone Zober said he will set up a meeting soon between the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network and Ravenstahl, who was attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors yesterday in Los Angeles and planned to return last night.

Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.
Back to headlines

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 14402.html

I would meet them with handcuffs

"This city was made by immigrants," said Barquera, a paralegal who has lived in Pittsburgh for 10 years. "We are experiencing a lot of bad attitudes, especially from police."

This is an empty statement. What are the police then? Are they not also immigrants from somewhere in the world originally. But they are not INVADERS and usurpers and BANDITS! What a joke!

I posted this piece to emphasize the absence once again of the operative word "illegal." Nobody is objecting to legal immigrants. The pro group is being allowed to frame their argument as "Hispanics" or "immigrants" when they well know this battle is about illegals. They need to be challenged every time this happens.

A Pittsburgh immigrant rights coalition demanded Monday to meet with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl about a confrontation last week between a Pittsburgh police officer and several Hispanic immigrants

These people are great at demanding, aren't they?