Ceres & Modesto Police Terrorize Latino Community to 'Make it Safe"

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  •  Rounding up Latinos -  83 Arrested, 270 homes searched, 160 vehicles stopped
Tactics used by Ceres and Modesto police and the Sheriff's Department to crackdown on gangs have drawn the criticism of three civil rights groups. The California Rural Legal Assistance, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights have filed a Public Records Act request following reports of police sweeps, house searches, and interrogations of Latino youth. Ceres Police have been concentrating on arresting gang criminals since the gang problem worsened in 2004. After the Jan. 9 shooting of Ceres police officer Sam Ryno and fatal shooting of Ceres Police Sgt. Howard Stevenson by purported gang member Andres Raya on Jan. 9, the crackdown intensified. In response to the ambush in front of George's Liquors on Caswell Avenue, officers began using assault rifles in approaching some gang suspects. During the intensified gang enforcement, 83 individuals were arrested, 270 home searched, and 160 vehicles stopped. The sweep included detaining 135 people for questioning and the questioning of 391 people. Arrests took place all over Ceres and Modesto but concentrated in the predominantly farm worker community of the farm labor camp located near Ceres High School. The groups hopes to obtain all policy and operations plans in connection with the sweeps so they can analyze whether or not police were unlawfully harrassing residents of the Hispanic community. Robert Rubin, the Legal Director for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR) said: "However legitimate law enforcement activity might be, it must not be used as a cover for wholesale targeting of the Latino community. This community already suffers from discrimination in the delivery of critical municipal services and the lack of electoral voting power (which are the subject of two ongoing lawsuits); it should not be forced to confront the indignity of race-based police sweeps."
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