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Oakland cops halt checks for DUIs - Activists say roadblocks unfair to unlicensed immigrants
All I can say is....CrapOakland police officers have stopped setting up roadblocks to check whether drivers are under the influence because of a rash of complaints from the Latino community and City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. The checkpoints, which allow officers to demand licenses and proof of insurance, are an effective way to get drunken drivers off Oakland's streets, city leaders agree. But the checks also have ensnared dozens of illegal immigrants who are not licensed to drive yet otherwise obey the law. Illegal immigrants. Unlicensed Drivers. No Insurance, for sure. Otherwise obeying the law. Guess we get to pick and choose, and anyone who criticizes or judges is a racist, right? "These checkpoints make people's lives miserable, not make them safer," said Jesus Rodriguez of Oakland Community Organizations, which filed most of the complaints about the checkpoints. "I've watched while the police have towed away cars (full) of groceries, leaving children crying on the sidewalk." The complaints and pressure from De La Fuente, who represents the largely Latino Glenview-Fruitvale district and plans to run for mayor in 2006, prompted police Chief Richard Word to order his officers to hold off on any more DUI checkpoints while new guidelines are drafted. Chief Dick Word = spineless butt-weasel Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=44413 |