Thread: Police rebuke Fox TV's O'Reilly

Police rebuke Fox TV's O'Reilly
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Monday, May 14, 2007


By LEO STRUPCZEWSKI
Courier-Post Staff

CHERRY HILL
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly blasted the Cherry Hill Police Department on national television Thursday night and posted the tirade on his Web site Friday.

O'Reilly found it troublesome that Eljvir, Dritan and Shain Duka, three illegal aliens charged in the Fort Dix assault plot, had been pulled over for a number of traffic violations over the years and that they were in the country illegally was never discovered.

The brothers, all Cherry Hill residents, were pulled over a combined 45 times in New Jersey -- 21 of them in Cherry Hill -- from 1997 to May 2006.

As O'Reilly put it, "This is what anarchy looks like, ladies and gentlemen."

But an immigration expert and law enforcement official said it's not that simple.

The traffic violations the Duka brothers were stopped for aren't charged criminally in New Jersey and none raised flags about the brothers' residency, said Cherry Hill police Lt. William Kushina.

Kushina said the brothers, who drove most of the time without a valid license, could easily have provided police a valid form of identification, like a Social Security card, masking their status. If they did, there's no reason to distrust it, he said.

"We knew them," Kushina said. "We knew where to find them. Sometimes they didn't pay their tickets, but that's all it was."

Matthew Archambeault, a Philadelphia immigration lawyer, said illegal aliens can receive Social Security numbers with certain types of visas. Dritan Duka did, New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission documents show.

On a few occasions, the brothers were pulled over for speeding or making an illegal turn. Most of the traffic stops were for being an unlicensed driver or driving with a suspended license, and only three of those violations occurred in the last two years.

Though most happened in Cherry Hill, the Dukas were pulled over in several Camden County towns; Washington Township, Gloucester County; and Carteret Borough, Middlesex County.

Dritan Duka was pulled over in Somerdale for careless driving on Nov. 24, 1997. He also received a ticket for being an unlicensed driver. Later the same day, he was stopped in Voorhees for being an unlicensed driver.

Kushina said an unlicensed driver is often asked to pull the car to a safe place off the roadway with the understanding that a licensed driver will pick it up. If the car is on a highway or a place not fit for parking, the police department will have the car towed. The car is stored at a garage until the driver picks it up. To do so, they must visit police, show valid identification and sign a release.

It's unclear what happened with Dritan Duka on Nov. 24, 1997, but neither stop raised a flag in the system. And Dritan, who had been in the country since 1984, likely looked the part of a perfectly American teenager. If so, there would be no reason a police officer would think he was an illegal immigrant, Archambeault said.

"I don't see why the police would have had any suspicion," Archambeault said. "If there were no immigration warrants, there would be no red flag."

Archambeault said it's possible the Duka brothers have filed for asylum -- not uncommon for immigrants from the former Yugoslavia -- and their applications have not been heard by a judge. In the past, he said, he's represented clients who waited 20 years to have their application heard.

"It's obviously not commonplace, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had filed for asylum at some point," Archambeault said. "It may be that red flags weren't raised because they were entitled to be here."

Kushina said when police suspect a person is an illegal immigrant they contact the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. A member of the prosecutor's office decides whether to interview the illegal immigrant. If the official doesn't, it can be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Unless they say to hold the person, they're released on a summons," Kushina said. "We're not immigration officers."

Reach Leo Strupczewski at (856) 317-7828 or lstrupczewski@courierpostonline.com
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/p ... 20392/1006

Where's the rebuke? It sounds like a gross lack of doing your job disguised as a bunch of excuses. Forty-something traffic violations?! No red flags?! How 'bout the fact that these dudes could not consistently follow our traffic laws?! That could be a start. At some point, couldn't they have investigated a little further into these losers history. Of course, most of these problems occurred in New Jersey.

Until people start suing the cities, states and federal government for gross dereliction of duty; they will continuing turning their heads.

Relatives of victims must come forward with class action suits!!!

On a few occasions, the brothers were pulled over for speeding or making an illegal turn. Most of the traffic stops were for being an unlicensed driver or driving with a suspended license, and only three of those violations occurred in the last two years.

I haven't had three traffic violations in my entire life, and I'm 50. What does it take to get the attention of the police in Cherry Hill? Sounds like total incompetance to me.

Dianne wrote:

[/quote]Until people start suing the cities, states and federal government for gross dereliction of duty; they will continuing turning their heads.

Relatives of victims must come forward with class action suits!!!

Boy oh boy, did you say a mouthful.