Thread: SIT student alleges racial profiling by Brattleboro police

http://www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_3997495

SIT student alleges racial profiling by Brattleboro police
By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff


Friday, June 30
BRATTLEBORO -- A new allegation of racial profiling against a Brattleboro police officer surfaced Thursday.
In a letter dated June 28, addressed to the Citizen Police Communication Committee, Ricardo Vargas, a student at the School for International Training, wrote that on June 5, he was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by a Brattleboro police officer on Putney Road by the Marina restaurant.

Vargas' allegation followed hot on the heels of a similar accusation by Catherine Orland, an ex-ALANA associate and SIT graduate, who said she and her passenger were improperly questioned by Brattleboro Police Officer Terrance Parker during a traffic stop on May 28.

Orland also accused an unidentified U.S. Border Patrol agent of behaving in an unprofessional manner while talking on the phone to her and her passenger.

A spokesman for the border patrol, Ross DeLacy, said Thursday that he will check phone logs to see if a Brattleboro police officer called Border Patrol on May 28.

In his letter, Vargas wrote that during the stop on June 5, the officer's behavior struck him as odd.

"We waited for the officer to approach our car. When he finally did so, he came directly to ... my side of the car ... and not to the driver's side," he wrote.

Vargas, a Mexican national, claims that the officer then asked him questions about his status in the country.

"I was not even driving a car that night and comprehended that the only reason he had to ask for my immigration status was the color of my skin," Vargas wrote. "Which leads me to believe that it was racial profiling on his part."

In his letter, Vargas wrote that he misunderstood a question from the officer, and responded that he was in the country illegally, though he later told the officers his immigration documents were in his room at SIT.

"At this point, I started feeling harassed and nervous," he wrote.

Vargas said Thursday that he didn't get the officer's name and was hoping the police complaint board would be able to figure out who pulled them over that night.

The graduate student, who has been in Brattleboro for 10 months on a student visa, said until this incident, he hadn't experienced anything like it since coming to Vermont. In accented but proficient English, Vargas said he would like the police complaint board to tell him what the responsibilities are of Brattleboro police officers when it comes to enforcing federal immigration laws and "to what extent the Brattleboro Police Department trains their officers to enforce immigration policies," he wrote.

Vargas wrote that after a breath test was administered to the driver, police let the pair go. He wrote, "I realized how nervous I had been through the entire process. His questions came one right after the other one, and the way in which he spoke to me made me feel like I had just been caught doing something wrong."

Chief John Martin said officers are encouraged to reach out to federal officials whenever they think there may be a question on documentation.

"If there is a situation where you think a federal law is being broken, the officer has an obligation to contact a federal agent to determine what can be done," said Chief John Martin, on Wednesday, prior to learning about the Vargas allegation.

On Thursday, Martin said he had no comment on Vargas' allegation at this time.

DeLacy, of the Border Patrol, said police officers often call the U.S. Border Patrol and that it's not uncommon for police agencies to contact Border Patrol for advice when dealing with immigration or customs issues.

"We get hundreds of calls a day," said Ross DeLacy Thursday afternoon.

"It's certainly a common practice," Delacy said. "We will respond if it's a question on false or immigration document or immigrant status and if there is a language barrier."

These allegations are serious because they have no basis in law, said Curtiss Reed Jr., executive director of ALANA, private civil rights organization.

"What is really disturbing about this stop and others like it is there is no constitutional requirement that you have to have some sort of identification with you," said Reed. "This is a not-so-subtle form of intimidation and coercion by police."

But the police chief said passengers are routinely questioned when the situation warrants.

"If an officer suspects someone of being intoxicated, incapacitated, on drugs, holding drugs or of having an arrest warrant, then it's good police procedure to question everyone in the car," responded Martin. "There's a million reasons why you might question passengers."

The chairman of the CPCC, John Schaefer, said he was aware of the Orland letter, and the CPCC was currently reviewing it. He said it was his understanding the letter's main complaint was about the behavior of the alleged border patrol agent and was not critical of the behavior of anyone on the Brattleboro police force.

Schaefer said he had no further comment on Orland's allegation, and had not yet had a chance to review the Vargas letter.

Vargas said despite the alleged incident, he has enjoyed his stay in Brattleboro, and would encourage other students like him to come to Vermont.

"But what leads the officer to ask me these types of questions," he added. "Was it the color of my skin."




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Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com, or at (802) 254-2311, ext. 277.

"But what leads the officer to ask me these types of questions," he added. "Was it the color of my skin."

Sounds like he is gearing up for a lawsuit to make some $$$$$.

"What is really disturbing about this stop and others like it is there is no constitutional requirement that you have to have some sort of identification with you," said Reed. "This is a not-so-subtle form of intimidation and coercion by police."

Why does everything have something to do with the Constitution in their eyes??! I guess the whole thing didn't give him a "warm and fuzzy" feeling so he is upset. Get over it!

Vargas, a Mexican national, claims that the officer then asked him questions about his status in the country.

Yes sir Mr. Vargas when you are a foreigner in this country we have every right yo see your papers... Don't like it, GO HOME and don't let the door hit you in the hiney...

"I was not even driving a car that night and comprehended that the only reason he had to ask for my immigration status was the color of my skin," Vargas wrote. "Which leads me to believe that it was racial profiling on his part."

Looks like he was right.

When did we decide that police are supposed to be blind?

So what if it was racial profiling. The PC stuff needs to stop. Who are they supposed to question... blond haired, blue eyed, fair skinned people...when a majority of illegals are Hispanic (last statistic I heard was 85%)?