Thread: Southland activists defend LA impound policy revamp, warn undocumented drivers of che

Southland activists defend LA impound policy revamp, warn undocumented drivers of checkpoints

Dec. 22, 2011 | By Corey Moore | KPCC

Southland immigration activists are warning undocumented, unlicensed drivers to be careful behind the wheel as authorities conduct holiday checkpoints in Los Angeles. They spoke Thursday at a downtown Los Angeles news conference. The message rubs some the wrong way.

“A great majority of people who are losing their cars are undocumented people," said Ron Gochez of the Southern California Immigration Coalition. "And the great majority of those undocumented people are Latinos.”

Gochez maintains that the state law that allows LAPD officers to impound drivers’ vehicles and hold them for 30 days is unfair and discriminatory.
Members of the Coalition issued a two-pronged message. They praised Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the LAPD for reconsidering rules on impounding cars. Activists also urged caution behind the wheel.

Coalition members argue the policy is a way for officials to deport hardworking undocumented immigrants.
A law enforcement union official challenged that position.

“What is going to happen when a CHP officer stops you?" asked Marshall McClain, who heads the L.A. AirportPeace Officers Association. "No, answer my question.”

The Association represents hundreds of cops and firefighters. McClain takes issue with Mayor Villaraigosa’s vow to stop impounds for first-time offenders.

McClain tried to convince activists that changing the law would jeopardize public safety. He contends that the coalition’s sending the wrong message to unlicensed drivers.

“If you’re saying go ahead and drive — that’s what you’re saying, correct?" McClain said. "You’re saying you can’t be naive that people are [not] going to drive.”
An activist responded, “People have necessities and they’re going to drive, period.”

The group stopped short of telling motorists not to drive. They say it's unrealistic to expect undocumented, unlicensed immigrants won't drive to visit family for the holidays or go to work.

McClain says all motorists should abide by the laws of the roadway, and that includes having a valid driver's license.

Recent national studies have indicated that nearly 15 percent of all drivers involved in deadly crashes didn’t have licenses. But activists say those numbers don’t reveal how many of them were undocumented, or were first-time offenders.

LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck has reportedly said that he supports revamping an impound policy he’s called a burden on illegal immigrants.

Under a proposed L.A. city ordinance, law enforcement would allow unlicensed motorists they pull over to allow someone else to drive their car home for them.


http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/12/22/...atch-out-chri/

"LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck has reportedly said that he supports revamping an impound policy he’s called a burden on illegal immigrants."

It should be a burden on illegal immigrants. They should be arested for driving without a liscence and if they are found out to be here illegally they should be deported

San Diego County Deputies tow shoppers' unregistered vehicles

By MORGAN COOK mcook@nctimes.comNorth County Times | Posted: Friday, December 23, 2011 10:00 pm

At least eight people had their vehicles towed Friday as sheriff's deputies cruised shopping centers and streets looking for long-expired vehicle registrations.

Slow traffic prompted the deputies to look for other enforcement opportunities, namely registration enforcement, Lt. Mike Sea said. He said the deputies decided on their own to look for vehicles with expired registrations, and the activity was not part of any formal enforcement operation or the department's Holiday Watch.

"There's just no way that I'm going to be able to spin this in a good light because on the surface it looks terrible, but this is part of their duties as traffic enforcement," Sea said.

Sea said law enforcement officers can't tow a vehicle for expired registration unless it has been expired for at least 6 months.

By 2:45 p.m. two vehicles had been towed from Grand Plaza, four from Creekside Marketplace, and two from streets, Sea said.

San Marcos resident Rob Hazen said he and his wife were walking to their car from Nordstrom Rack at Grand Plaza around 1:45 p.m. when they saw a woman screaming and crying beside her car, which had been loaded onto a tow truck.

He said two deputies and two patrol cars were there, too.

"She just kept saying, 'They've been paid, they've been paid,'" Hazen said. "She was pretty upset."

Sea said the enforcement might come off as Grinch-like at this time of year, but it's one of the enforcement activities traffic deputies are expected to do when they're not busy with moving violations.

"Traffic is extremely slow and sparse," Sea said. "Normally they would not be doing this kind of enforcement, but when things slow down we don't expect them to be doing nothing."

Hazen said he supported the police, and that he understood their responsibilities, but the timing was terrible.

"Two days before Christmas to basically be working in a parking lot and snagging cars? I think there's a different way to go about it," he said.

Sea said supervisors did not plan to stop the deputies or redirect their efforts.

"Their activity will be driven by the activity in the city," Sea said. "As traffic picks up, they'll focus on that."



http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sa...#ixzz1hTfeipAD

The car should be impounded and if the driver is an illegal then the car should be auctioned off and proceeds go to immigration enforcement.

BE LEGAL OR BE GONE

Originally Posted by BillCunnane

The car should be impounded and if the driver is an illegal then the car should be auctioned off and proceeds go to immigration enforcement.

BE LEGAL OR BE GONE

RELATED
California to stop towing unlicensed drivers

http://www.alipac.us/threads/246557-...censed-drivers

DUI Arrests Top 1,000 Over Last Week: More Checkpoints Going Up Today

By City News Service
Authorities have arrested 1,028 people on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol during the past week in Los Angeles County, it was reported today.

The arrests were made in the seven-day period between 12:01 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16 and midnight Thursday by personnel from about 100 policing agencies around the county, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported.

During the same seven-day period last year, there were 924 DUI arrests. The “Avoid 100″ safety campaign includes DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols of officers on the lookout for motorists who are driving while impaired.

The operation will include a so-called Maximum Enforcement Period between 6 p.m. today and midnight Monday, during which all available California Highway Patrol officers will be on duty.
The campaign, which will continue through midnight on New Year’s Day, is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The local effort is part of a nationwide traffic safety campaign.

http://egpnews.com/?p=33413

POWAY: DUI checkpoint, patrols net 9 arrests, deputies say

By MORGAN COOK mcook@nctimes.comNorth County Times | Posted: Saturday, December 24, 2011 4:52 pm

POWAY ---- Nine people were arrested during special enforcement activities to catch people driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, officials said Saturday.
San Diego County sheriff's deputies conducted a checkpoint and extra patrols to catch impaired drivers between 7 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday, Lt. Jose Sanchez said. The enforcement happened at the intersection of Espola and Valle Verde roads, he said.
Four people were arrested on suspicion of DUI by patrol officers, and all of their vehicles were towed, Sanchez said.
At the checkpoint, two people were arrested on suspicion of DUI while their licenses were suspended for a previous DUI conviction, and one minor was arrested on suspicion of DUI, Sanchez said. In addition, two drivers were arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs, he said.
Call staff writer Morgan Cook at 760-739-6675.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/po...#ixzz1hZNWIFYe

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/po...#ixzz1hZMNLcEA