Thread: Mexican family, claiming profiling, seeks $45,000

Mexican family, claiming profiling, seeks $45,000
by Astrid Galvan - Jul. 18, 2008 05:57 PM
The Arizona Republic
The Mexican family involved in a December traffic stop in which they claim Gilbert Police violated their rights by racial profiling are asking the town to pay $45,000 in damages, according to Gilbert documents.

Monday is the town's deadline to respond to the request, said the family's attorney, Kendall Steele.

On Dec. 14, Officer Chad Wright pulled over Armando Rodriguez-Morales, then 59, on suspicion of illegally backing up.

Wright, a motorcycle officer, was part of an East Valley DUI task force in Mesa when he pulled over Rodriguez-Morales, a Mexican citizen.

Rodriguez-Morales was with his wife and two family friends.

They claim they were pulled over because Wright believed they were illegal immigrants, according to documents.

The family was legally visiting to attend a wedding.

During the stop, Wright thought Rodriguez-Morales' driver's license had been falsified.

Morales didn't have insurance papers, so Wright confiscated the vehicle keys and had it towed to an impound yard, a standard protocol.

Wright left the family stranded, according to reports.

In a notice of claim to the town, Kendall claims the family's First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated due to illegal stopping, searching and abandoning.

Anyone planning to sue the town of Gilbert must first file a notice of claim, after which the town attorney reviews the case.

"We feel that rights were denied, were abused," Steele said. "I think it's fairly clear in our minds there was no legal basis for the stop."

But an investigation by the police department concluded Wright did not racially profile.

It did, however, find he violated department policy by locking the car and leaving the scene without waiting for a tow truck to take it.

Wright was given a written reprimand and was forced to seek counseling.

He is still employed by Gilbert Police and works as a patrol officer, said Gilbert Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marino.

The department cannot comment on any pending cases, Marino said.

Town officials did not return calls requesting comment.

Kendall said if the town does not respond Monday, the family will most likely file a lawsuit and increase the amount they are asking for.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilb ... 1N.html

Kendall said if the town does not respond Monday, the family will most likely file a lawsuit and increase the amount they are asking for.

Translation- if they don't get their way, they will sue for more money? Isn't this considered extortion?

More family values.

Kendall said if the town does not respond Monday, the family will most likely file a lawsuit and increase the amount they are asking for.




Oh, I see..........give us what we want and DEMAND or we will sue you for even more money.

I hope the city of Gilbert tells these people to go pound sand.

They have claimed racial profiling right from the start when it would have been impossible for a police officer who was approaching from the opposite direction, to even ascertain the race of who was in the vehicle, or the origin of the plate on the car.

It was an officer who, while on DUI patrol, spotted a vehicle improperly backing up in the roadway and executed a traffic stop. Having it towed was at his discretion and since they were from Mexico and only here for the weekend, he had every reason to believe that they would not appear in court to produce proof of insurance.

Get over it already and quit looking for a quick pay day!!!!

I think this is a good example as to why illegal trespassing needs to stop. Who knows what Mr Morales is like, but one thing is certain is that he was a legal and probably welcomed visitor to this country. He deserves some respect. I would hate to travel and bump into what he did. If there was not such a HUGE influx of undocumented trespassers this never would have happened. Mr Morales deserves better and so do we. So let's stop with this illegal garbage. If it stops, then we can start living by laws again. Ooooh, the irony. Once some laws are enforced and others are not then we introduce chaos...you know...were we are at now.

Morales didn't have insurance papers

End of discussion...I would have had it towed....They did not have insurance papers....for a very good reason...they don't think they must play by the same rules...as American Citizens...period!...They need to never visit... Again!EVER!!!!

[quote="ArticleIV"]I think this is a good example as to why illegal trespassing needs to stop. Who knows what Mr Morales is like, but one thing is certain is that he was a legal and probably welcomed visitor to this country. He deserves some respect. I would hate to travel and bump into what he did. If there was not such a HUGE influx of undocumented trespassers this never would have happened. Mr Morales deserves better and so do we. So let's stop with this illegal garbage. If it stops, then we can start living by laws again. Ooooh, the irony. Once some laws are enforced and others are not then we introduce chaos...you know...were we are at now.[/quote]



You are right on a few points Article IV. Mr. Morales was legally here to visit for the weekend and of course he deserves respect.

Further, no one wants to travel and run into a problem such as he did but you ARE missing the point that he was observed by a police office illegally, and dangerously, backing up in the roadway after missing his turn.

The officer was approaching from the opposite direction, at NIGHT, and because of the dark conditions, as well as the glare from headlights, there was no possible way for that officer to have known the race of the people inside of the car or whether the car was from Mexico, NJ, or anywhere in between. ALL the officer observed was a vehicle committing an illegal and dangerous offense and based on that fact alone, turned around and stopped the vehicle.

Mr. Morales was asked for proof of insurance which he did not have and is solely to blame for that. Had he been visiting for a period of time long enough to attend a court date on this matter, he would have only had to bring proof of insurance to court with him and the charge would have been dismissed. However, he was only here for the weekend so the officer had his car impounded which would require proof of insurance in order to retrieve it. Either way....attending a court date or retrieving his car from impound....satisfied the requirement that he provide proof of insurance.

This is no different from what would have, and has, happened to countless others who, visting from out of state, have found themselves in the same situation as Mr. Morales. It has even happened to a friend of ours.

The fact of this matter is that this has nothing to do with the respect Mr. Morales deserves. It has, simply, to do with the fact that Mr. Morales committed a moving violation while visiting this country, was unable to provide proof of insurance for his vehicle, and was subjected to the consequences of his own actions the same as anyone else would have been.

The only difference between Mr. Morales and any American citizen who may have found themselves in the same situation is that Mr. Morales is under the impression that because he is Latino and a citizen of Mexico that he should not have been subjected to the laws and procedures of the state of AZ and he is now entitled to money because a police officer dared to do his job.

And, quite frankly, that is where Mr. Morales begins to lose respect.

July 19, 2008 - 5:36PM
Mexican files $75K claim against Gilbert police
Comments 10| Recommend 0
David Biscobing, Tribune
Armando Rodriguez-Morales got justice in court. And now, the 60-year-old Mexican citizen wants Gilbert police to pay.

Charges against Mexican motorist dropped

Morales, his wife and two family friends have filed a $75,000 notice of claims against the town stemming from a December traffic stop when they were left stranded on the side of the road in a high-crime area of Mesa after an officer had their car improperly towed.

The claim was filed May 15. Morales, who lives in Hermosillo, Mexico, couldn't be reached for comment.

Lawyers believe Morales could get more in the case, the claim states. However, to avoid the cost of litigation and court delays, they decided to settle for less. Morales is seeking $45,000 for himself and $10,000 each for the others.

On Dec. 14, while on holiday DUI patrol, officer Chad Wright pulled over Morales at a Mesa intersection for "illegal backing," meaning his vehicle rolled backward after stopping. Morales had a Mexican driver's license, and his vehicle had Sonora license plates. Wright decided the license and insurance papers were falsified and ordered the car towed. Both were later verified by the Mexican consulate.

Morales was visiting from Mexico for a wedding. He and the others were left stranded with their luggage near Broadway Road and Mesa Drive. Gilbert police later released the car and the San Tan justice of the peace dropped all charges.

The incident quickly caught the attention of Mesa Police Chief George Gascón after members of the Morales family sent a complaint to city officials. Gascón forwarded the complaint to Gilbert, prompting an internal investigation of Wright. The inquiry found Wright violated multiple department policies, including violations of abuse, loss of Morales' property and not reporting facts properly or accurately.

In the claim, lawyers said Wright stopped the car because he suspected the driver and occupants were illegal immigrants. "Officer Wright's conduct and statements on the night in question leave no doubt that his actions were racially motivated," the claim said.

Wright was cleared of the racial profiling charge. But after reviewing Wright's traffic stop records, the Tribune learned he ticketed Hispanic drivers at a rate nearly double the department average.

Wright, an eight-year veteran, was removed from traffic duty after the investigation and reassigned to patrol. He also was given a written warning.

"I do believe his extensive commitment to removing impaired drivers has narrowed his focus," Cmdr. Ken Buckland wrote in a report. "This I believe, ultimately led to his less than favorable decisions in this case."

In recent years, Wright led Gilbert police in arrests. But he has more than 30 citizen complaints in his career. Gilbert police and Wright declined to comment.

Related
Charges against Mexican motorist dropped
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/121172

Is'nt it amazing how these " poor mexicans " always seem to have a lawyer available to them. It seems that just about every mexican in the US has a lawyer on retainer. I guess thats just good planning when you are breaking US laws on a daily basis and you never know when you'll finally get caught !