Difficulties of our times

[John Paramo <albatrosrojo2000@xxxxxxxxx>]

Here is a note I received today which explains some of
difficulties nowadays to try to organize among
immigrants in the US.  JP

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-----Original Message-----
From:MDI
Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2002 11:23 AM
To: LIST
Subject: Urgent: SFPD undermining immigrant event

Dear Friends:

URGENT - PLEASE TAKE ACTION

This October 12, from 10 AM to 5 PM Immigrant Pride
day 2002 will take place on 24th Street, between
Mission St. and South Van Ness in the
predominantly working class and Latino Mission
District.  The event has all the necessary City, DPW
(Department of Public Work) and DPT (Department of
Parking and Traffic) and other permits, as well as the
necessary liability insurance policy.  Public hearings
were held to approve the event.  A petition was signed
by neighbors supporting it.

Around 70 organizations (unions, community and
political groups,etc)endorsed it.  The character of
the event is one of music and performance
festival mixed with speakers and workshops, movie
projections and so on.

The event took place several times in the same
location since 1996. We never had any major incident
or conflict.

This year, apparently under cover of the present
anti-immigrant environment, which is increasingly
developing after 9/11,  one Sergeant
Nicholas Rubino, from the Mission Police Station, Star
Nr. 448 took upon himself to call around organizers of
the event, including myself, to harass us for the
political character of the event (apparently he
dislike the fact that the event is organized to demand
an amnesty for undocumented immigrants, in defense of
civil liberties and against the war) and indicating
that he would oppose the event next year if we
decided to organize it again, based exclusively on its
political content.

He is the person in "charge" of public events for the
SFPD in the Mission District, or at least that is the
way he introduced himself to us.  Apparently he acted
upon his word as well.  As the person in "charge" of
public events for the police in the area, he failed to
show up to a meeting with us at which the safety of
the event was supposed to be discussed last week.  The
meeting was arranged at the Mission District Police
Station. He later told us that he "forgot" the
appointment.  We left at the station, and we have a
copy signed and rubber stamped as received, where we
indicate our plans for safety of the events that
basically stated that volunteers fro different
organizations will take care of it and naming the
liaison person with the SFPD,

Furthermore, the police failed to post the no-parking
signs in the area where we are organizing the event. 
Under the law, no-parking signs must be posted at
least 48-72 hours before the event.  Today, October
11, at 9:30 AM - less than 24 hours before the event,
the signs were NOT posted.  This may create enormous
conflicts with neighbors because more than 200 cars
will be towed by the City tomorrow at 7 AM to clear
the
streets for the event.  Maybe the failure to post the
no-parking signs was designed to create a conflict
between residents and the organizers of the event.
This failure to post the signs was done in spite our
contacting of Sergeant Rubino several times in the
last two days requesting that he did that.

In order to protect our event and their participants
and to avoid any difficulty with residents because the
police actions and to prevent any aggressive policing
of the event by the SFPD, as well as to protect our
legal rights, I took a number of actions today,
October 11.

1. I contacted the Office of Citizens Complaints and
file complaint Nr. 762-02 with investigator Alan
Barnes against Sergeant Nicholas Rubino
for his telephone calls to organizing objecting on the
political undertones of our festival and for his
failure to post the no-parking signs and potentially
setting the stage for a community conflict that
then could be used to ban our event in the future.  I
also formally requested the attendance of observers
from OCC (an office legally charged with investigating
police abuse or misconduct) at our event
tomorrow as a deterrent against any over-reaction by
the police. This was done at 9:55 AM.

2. At 10.05 I contacted once again the Mission Police
Station and made them aware of the invitation to the
OCC to attend the event tomorrow as
observers. After failed attempts to talk to somebody
in charge, and after I left messages indicating the
fact that I was contacting the OCC on this matter, I
was called back. I discussed the failure to post the
no-parking signs with Lt. Jill Brophy who assured me
that the signs would be posted today (late and outside
the required legal framework).

She blamed the problem on the Department of Public
Works (DWP) and promised that tomorrow, police
officers will knock doors before remaining cars are
towed away.  She also indicated that Sergeant Rubino
will not be at the event tomorrow and that another
Sergeant, Lindbergh and she will personally show up
tomorrow at 7 AM and meet with us.

I write this letter to you to inform you of these
incidents and to ask you to contact Lt. Brophy at the
Mission Police Station (Phone: 415- 597-7711) and
express the concerns arising from these police actions
that are undermining the largest political event of
immigrants and non-citizens and urge her to instruct
the officers under her command to exercise restrain
and cooperation with the organizers of the event.

Sincerely yours,

Carlos Petroni
On behalf of the Immigrant Pride Day Organizing
Committee



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