Task force agent cleared in 2 cases of racial charges
Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2008
An undercover officer assigned to Northwest Arkansas ’ task force investigating illegal immigrants is being unfairly targeted by bogus complaints, Springdale’s police chief said last week.
Since the Immigration Criminal Apprehension Task Force started work in October, two complaints have been made to local law enforcement, and both were against the Springdale undercover officer.
A Dec. 21 complaint said the officer mocked and threatened suspects during a Dec. 10 raid at Acambaro Mexican Restaurants and related businesses. The other, on Dec. 3, accused him of unfairly stopping Hispanic motorists.
Internal investigations cleared the officer in both complaints, which were made to Police Chief Kathy O’Kelley. She wouldn’t release his name because he works undercover.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained the complaints through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, but the Police Department redacted the officer’s name. The department also refused to release the contents of its investigations into the complaints.
The task force, comprised of officers in Washington and Benton counties, enforces immigration laws under a federal provision called 287 (g ).
In the program, 19 police officers and jailers build cases against suspected illegal immigrants for prosecution and deportation. Participating agencies are the Benton and Washington county sheriff’s offices and the Springdale and Rogers police departments.
The program has faced criticism from those who say it’s fundamentally flawed because it borders on racial profiling. Officials say it’s good police work.
“This officer is being unfairly characterized in an attempt to discredit the 287 (g ) program,” O’Kelley said in a statement.
“There are different agendas out there in the community about this program, and that’s what is driving these complaints,” she said. Jim Miranda, a Hispanicrights advocate from Bella Vista, made the Dec. 21 complaint to O’Kelley. He said opposition to the 287 (g ) program doesn’t diminish the validity of the claims against the officer.
“During the raid, this officer donned an Acambaro apron and a sombrero and danced around, saying ‘Ha, ha, we got Acambaro, ’” Miranda said. “He interrogated people by screaming at them, ‘ Where are the drugs; we know you’re dealing drugs ! If you don’t tell us, we’ll target you and your family !’” “These are very serious accusations,” he said, pointing out that no one was charged with drug crimes in the immigration raid.
“This officer has continued to throw his weight around on the task force and a pattern of behavior is emerging,” Miranda said. “This isn’t a sweeping allegation against Springdale Police Department. We appreciate Chief O’Kelley’s willingness to listen and communicate. But every complaint about the task force has involved this officer. Everything we’re hearing is centered on him.” ‘ DROVE NICE CARS’ The Dec. 3 complaint was made by Margarita Solorzano, who told O’Kelley that people who wanted to remain anonymous complained that the officer “talks down” to Hispanic suspects and communicates in a manner that is “very offensive.” The people claimed the officer had stopped Hispanic motorists just because “they drove nice cars” and only to inquire about their immigration status, Solorzano said.
Sgt. Shane Pegram, a Springdale Police Department spokesman, said the internal investigations found all the claims were baseless, including one that the officer said the task force was “targeting” Hispanic business in the area.
The investigations found that the officer wasn’t even present where the alleged conduct occurred, specifically the Dec. 10 raids, Pegram said.
“Based on assignments of personnel, we made the determination that he wasn’t even there,” Pegram said. “Beyond that, we can’t discuss it because the information is law-enforcement sensitive.” The Dec. 21 complaint is based on the eyewitness account of Isaias Morales, who was present during the Acambaro raid but not arrested, Miranda said. Morales said that the officer danced in the sombrero and made the derogatory remarks while police were at Garcia’s Distributing in Lowell, a sister company to Acambaro, Miranda said.
“It’s frustrating that they’re denying this officer was there,” Miranda said. “It’s classic of law enforcement generally being very protective of their own. It’s one reason why the Latino community doesn’t have any confidence in the complaint process.” The complaints were problematic because they were based on second- and third-hand information, police said. Miranda didn’t include Morales’ name in the Dec. 21 complaint, and Solorzano’s complaint didn’t give names, either. Solorzano, director of the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas, said she encouraged the people who complained to her to file complaints with the Police Department. The department will accept anonymous complaints, Pegram said. “But that limits us in how far we can go in with the investigations,” Pegram said. “We can only do so much with second- and third-hand information.” NAMELESS TIPS LIMITING Miranda said he talked with O’Kelley before making his Dec. 21 complaint, and she said she was troubled by the allegation and would look into it. He never heard back. “I would have liked a response about whether the officer was investigated or disciplined,” Miranda said.
Morales has taken over operations of the Acambaro restaurant chain. He’s a son-in-law of Acambaro owner Arturo Reyes Sr. of Rogers, who is a legal resident and who wasn’t arrested in the raid, Miranda said.
Reyes’ sons Arturo Reyes Jr. and Armando Reyes, and two other company operators are charged in U. S. District Court with harboring illegal aliens as workers and with money laundering.
The Reyes brothers are in the country illegally, prosecutors say. Fifteen other people were arrested and deported in the raid.
Complaints are inherent to law-enforcement work, with the likelihood increasing as police make more arrests and have more contacts with the public, Pegram said.
The department had 21 formal complaints in 2007 — when it arrested about 7, 500 people and answered roughly 54, 000 calls for service, Pegram said.
The Immigration Criminal Apprehension Task Force made about 460 arrests between early October and the end of March, said Temple Black, spokesman for U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New Orleans.
They had two complaints: those against the Springdale officer. The other three agencies said they had no complaints about the task force.
According to a memoranda of agreement among the departments and the federal agency dictating how the 287 (g ) program will operate, complaints from the public made to local law enforcement are to be reported to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
Springdale police followed the procedure by reporting the two complaints to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who supervises the task force, Pegram said.
Black, the agency’s spokesman for the task force, said he knew of no complaints.
The memoranda of agreement say the four agencies are to establish by July a steering committee that will review and assess the police work and monitor any complaints made by the public.
For now, each agency meets with a task force supervisor on an individual basis.
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