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Last modified Mon., July 31, 2006 - 12:07 AM
Originally created Monday, July 31, 2006


Sheriff assures fearful Hispanics


He worries they'll look to gangs for protection.


By DANA TREEN, The Times-Union


When a string of violent crimes and the fear of deportation led wary Hispanic victims to consider using criminal gangs for protection last year, Jacksonville police saw a dangerous alliance forming.


Sunday, Sheriff John Rutherford told about two dozen people at San Jose Catholic Church on Toledo Road that his department knew it had to quell the fears of illegal immigrants concerned they would be arrested and deported if their status in the United States was discovered.

He made the remarks at the first community gathering of an International Affairs Unit he activated in the department three weeks ago to reach out to Spanish speakers and other immigrants in Jacksonville.

"In America, the police are here to protect your rights," Rutherford said, pausing while his remarks were translated to the mostly Hispanic audience. "They don't have to turn to MS 13 or some other group to protect them."

MS 13, a street gang with roots in Los Angeles' El Salvadoran community, is growing in numbers in the South as Hispanic populations grow, according to the National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations.

Rutherford said police intelligence units learned last year that there was a possibility MS 13 members were being contacted to provide protection after a series of assaults on Hispanics who roomed together in Jacksonville apartments and residences.

He said there was no indication any members of MS 13 were in Jacksonville, but that the concern that they could come led in part to the creation of the International Affairs Unit.

"That is why this unit had to be started now," he said.

The armed home invasions occurred as far back as 2004.

Because the victims lived in groups, carried cash and often were afraid to call police for fear of deportation, they were ideal targets, Rutherford said.

Eventually, the robbers became more brazen, and in some cases, shot victims.

"Two of them died eventually," Rutherford said.

"There were those in that victimized community who were going to reach out to MS 13 to come in and protect them," he said later.

Rutherford said the International Unit will ease immigrants' dealings with police and soothe crime victims' concerns of deportation because of their residency status. Immigrant populations have grown significantly in Jacksonville, evidenced in part by an increase in non-English calls for police service - from 50 in 1991 to 2,282 in 2005.

"If you are a witness or a victim of a crime, we are not going to ask [your immigration status]," he said.

Sunday's community meeting was an attempt to reach out to a wary community that faces language and cultural barriers. Other gatherings are planned, likely through church services that will provide a neutral forum for officers with the unit to speak.

"We need that partnership so that community will not be victimized at will," he said.

Marcio Righini, 41, an attorney who emigrated from Brazil to the United States in February, said it was important that people know what their rights are, and that many come from a background where they do not trust the governments of their own countries.

"We don't understand your legal system and your laws," he said. Righini said Rutherford needed to emphasize that "the people can reach you, can reach your office."

dana.treen@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4091