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Tijuana begins investigating complaints against police filed by American tourists
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20031007-2324-tiju...
By Elliot Spagat
ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 7, 2003
TIJUANA, Mexico ? Michael Wilson's run-in with Tijuana police is a familiar story.
The 43-year-old Las Vegas man says he and a friend were accused of having illegal drugs, then handcuffed and driven around in a squad car for hours
before paying $500 to be let go.
What happened next, though, makes his experience unprecedented. The city's Honor and Justice Council ? a panel of two police officials, two City
Council members and two citizens ? promised to investigate and punish the officers for any wrongdoing.
The tribunal began hearing complaints from American tourists in April. So far, Wilson and seven others have claimed they were victims of police
shakedowns, forced to cough up between $60 and $700 apiece. If found guilty, the officers can face any of several penalties ? from unpaid leave to
dismissal.
In the past, U.S. authorities relayed tourists' complaints to city officials ? and typically nothing happened. About 5,000 Americans visit Tijuana's
tourist zone of boisterous bars and souvenir shops every weekend night. The U.S. consulate typically hears from one to three tourists a month who say
police officers fleeced them. Officials suspect many more simply don't bother to file reports.
The tribunal hasn't made any decisions on the 16 officers who've been accused so far, but U.S. officials say it is progress that the cases are even
being heard.
"This is a really good first step, but, of course, there's much more to be done," said Al Anzaldua, chief of American citizen services at the Tijuana
consulate. "Most people were too intimidated to go to the police because the police just robbed them. The last thing they want to do is go back."
The incipient crackdown is part of Tijuana's efforts to shed its seedy reputation for drugs, cheap booze, prostitution and corrupt cops. The Image
Committee, a group of civic leaders, is touting an emerging arts scene and abundant shopping opportunities. This border city of 1.2 million people has
won a few converts: Newsweek magazine last year named Tijuana one of the world's eight new cultural Meccas.
In its fight against police corruption, Tijuana published a 20-page tourist "legal guide" that admonishes visitors to avoid paying "fines" directly to
officers. The guide, a joint effort with San Diego, advises tourists to politely insist on a written citation.
The tribunal has been meeting sporadically for about two years ? usually once every three to six weeks ? to investigate all kinds of police abuse,
said City Attorney Martin Dominguez Chiu. About 40 officers were fired last year from the 1,300-member force after they tested positive for drugs.
The panel began hearing complaints from American tourists after U.S. officials urged them to do so, Dominguez Chiu said. The eight cases stem from
alleged incidents between November and June.
Wilson says his run-in with police happened in May, on a trip to buy patio furniture and hit a few nightclubs. He says he was walking with a friend
when police ordered the pair into a squad car and showed them a wad of tin foil, accusing them of drug possession.
The officers, he says, demanded $3,000 but settled for the $500.
Americans who complain are asked to return only once to Tijuana for an interview with the city attorney's office, which prosecutes cases before the
tribunal.
None of several visitors interviewed in Tijuana's tourist zone on a recent Saturday night knew about the tribunal. Several acknowledged police
corruption was a problem but said it wouldn't stop them from visiting.
San Diego resident Dan Williams said he and his brother-in-law forked over $300 about six months ago to officers who accused them of disturbing the
peace, a charge that he denies. He says they agreed to pay the money after police threatened to jail him for five days.
"I was just happy to get out of there," said Williams, 42.
The tribunal won't reveal details of the cases before it and does not open its deliberations to the public, said Martin Dominguez Rocha, a tribunal
member and Tijuana's public safety secretary.
Adjudicating many of the cases has been difficult, he said, because of the lack of witnesses. Often, tribunal members are forced to choose between the
officer's story and the alleged victim's.
Dominguez Chiu, the city attorney, is recommending the 16 officers be fired and says he is confident that decisions will be reached by the end of the
month.
"It takes us a long time to investigate these cases," he said. "It's a very slow process."
On the Net:
In Spanish:
http://www.sindicatura.gob.mx
In English:
http://www.tijuana.gob.mx/Turismo/TouristGuide/English
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Anonymous
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Tijuana Tribunal
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20031007-2324-tiju...
Don't let em push you around!
[Edited on 10-9-2003 by BajaNomad]
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Packoderm
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The link doesn't work for me.
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thebajarunner
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Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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Tijuana tribunal
Packo
this is the same story he posted four lines down about Tijuana.
not sure why another post and not sure why so many posts without registering and having some i.d. to track..
oh well, Baja Vida!!
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Stephanie Jackter
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Location: Arizona
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Try again Packoderm
It is a good link. Or go to SignonSanDiego.com and then hit the Mexico link.
re: the article, Yep. Good to see. That guy just got lucky to have complained when the political winds were blowing the right way. The govt's
actions are good, but will be very temporary and won't make a lasting impact.
It's necessary at this point to do something to improve the reputation of Tijuana to get those tourists back who won't step foot there or talk new
ones into coming, but this kind of thing didn't start yesterday and will continue as long as there are unwary victims to be had.
Prosecuting these crimes over the long term will just add to Tijuana's image of being a hard scrabble and dangerous place and drive more tourists
away. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't see this initiative lasting longer than any other good P.R. event. - Stephanie
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Packoderm
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To tell you the truth, danger is part of what lures me to Tijuana. It makes me feel kind of macho to survive the city despite my drinking and other
mildly illicit foolishness. I recall a song by Jerry Jeff Walker where he laughingly sings about waking up on the street in Tijuana (or any Mexican
city for the matter) with his pants down around his ankles. It makes me feel kind of smart to play with the fire but not get burned like that. We all
need a little danger. However, I suspect that it would be best for everybody involved if TJ cleans up its act a bit. I can find danger elsewhere.
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Anonymous
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oops! I posted this link from the road where i could not log in and before seeing that it was already posted by anonymous and i apologize for taking
up server space and i hope that Doug,whom, I was fortunate to met in person and thank for hosting this web page when we met him in the hallway at the
va when we went to see the one and only J.P. Smith aka The Grinning Gargoyle if you haven't read his book you should , that when Doug sees this he
will thankfully delete the whole thread because I just found out you can't delete unless you are logged in and I can never remember my password
because.................
I remain humbly elgatoloco unanonamously Matthew C. Pebley and if you are in Baja Norte this weekend look for me, I will be the guy that refuses to be
intimidated by the policia!!!             
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