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Mesa Police Department Readies for MCSO's Operation
By Eduardo Barraza
BARRIOZONA
June 25, 2008
Mesa Arizona. Another episode of the Maricopa County Sheriff Department’s publicized “crime suppression” operations
began unfolding this week, as public officials and residents reacted to the long-announced stop at the city of Mesa.
Three months earlier, the MCSO launched their tactic to bring their patrol cars –marked and unmarked– to the streets of
Phoenix, and conduct traffic stops based for the most part on non-moving violations.
Strategically executed in areas demographically dense of Hispanic/Latino residents, the impressive deployment of force
resulted in the arrest of individuals without legal documents.
After their first operation in the area of East Thomas Road and North 32nd Street, the MCSO repeated like actions in the
East Bell Road and Cave Creek Road area, and then the Town of Guadalupe.
Targeted to “suppress crime”, the MCSO’s operations evidently had an immigration-enforcement purpose, since the
majority of arrested drivers were pulled over non-moving traffic violations, did not received a traffic citation, but processed
instead due to their lack of legal status in the country.
The sheriff’s operations created volatile scenarios where protesters were drawn to show their support or opposition, and
clashed in near-violence situations.
MCSO’s most recent operation on April 3 and 4, was received with heavy protests from Guadalupe’s town residents and
officials. People there not only rebuffed the sheriff department’s actions, but forced the MCSO to not set up their command
post the second night.
After this last “crime suppression” operation in Guadalupe, the sheriff announced the next one would take place in the city
of Mesa. After almost three months, the MCSO finally decided to come to the East Valley.
Up since the MCSO indicated their intentions to conduct a similar operation in Mesa, Police Chief George Gascón began
to prepare to avoid similar situations as those witnessed in Phoenix and Guadalupe. Gascón acted quickly to make public
his department’s desire to receive appropriate notice before the sheriff would arrive in his city, and in the little to no-notice
fashion public officials in Phoenix and Guadalupe accused the MCSO to have launched their operations.
For months, the sheriff department gave no indication as to when the operation would take place in the city of Mesa. Early
this week, Chief Gascón learned indirectly, at first, and then through a letter from the MCSO, that the operation would begin
on Thursday. Mesa Police did not receive specific information on the place or times the operation would take place.
Chief Gascón offered a press conference on Wednesday, June 25, at the Mesa police department’s headquarters.
Members of the media there did not learn further details on the exact time, place or method of operation, although Gascón
indicated there has been little improvement in communication between both agencies.
Operations in Phoenix and Guadalupe set up MCSO’s command posts in public parking lots, preceded with a press
conference around 4:00 p.m. by Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Sheriff’s department vehicles –some unmarked– would patrol streets
surrounding the post looking to pull over drivers for infractions such as minor non-moving violations as a tail light or
broken windshield. Most drivers seemed to fit ethnic and economic characteristics.
When suspected traffic law violators fail to provide a drivers license and other documents, they begin to be question by
sheriff deputies. If they admit or give hints of lacking legal documents, they are arrested and taken to the command post,
where they continue to be questioned and then are taken in vans to the county jail. Immigration procedures are applied to
those individuals who are deemed to be undocumented.
Gascón stated to Barriozona Magazine that as police chief in Mesa, he does not consider MCSO’s crime suppression
operations –as the ones witnessed in Phoenix and Guadalupe in March and April– necessary. He added that this is the
first time in his career in law enforcement he deals with a situation in which another law enforcement agency does not
provide precise information to coordinate efforts. “In operations like this you want to have as much communication as
possible to ensure the safety of all residents,” he added.
The MCSO is expected to conduct a similar operation in Mesa on June 26 as the ones in Phoenix and Guadalupe.
However, it is probable that the MCSO will not set up a command post in a public spot, since the sheriff department has
facilities within the Maricopa County Southeast Regional Campus. In fact, after faced by protestors on April 3, the MCSO
limited to patrol the streets during the second day of operation in Guadalupe, taking arrested individuals to this East Valley
facility.
Copyright © 2008 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Grassroots Journalism
www.barriozona.com
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Chief George Gascón trying to ensure public safety in spite of vague information regarding MCSO's
operation in Mesa.