by Marvin Ramírez
ENew SFPD Chief George Garcón shakes S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom during his introduction as the new highest rank police leader. (photo by Marvin J. Ramirez)
For the first time, the Golden City picked a Latino to lead its police force of a little more than 2,000 sworn-in officers.
The mayor went outside the city and hired George Gascón, police chief of Mesa, Ariz., to replace outgoing Chief Heather Fong.
Gascón a Hispanic, an immigrant who came as a boy from Cuba, is an advocate for sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants, which San Francisco has long embraced. He is also considered an expert on the issue of racial profiling of suspects.
At a press conference, Garcon articulated his plans as the new chief, stating as one of the most important ones, to follow the Constitution.
This has been violated repeatedly by the SFPD for a longtime, even though the city prides itself highly on issues of civil rights and bill of rights, especially on the City Sanctuary status. The sanctuary mandates that no city resources shall be used to assist immigration officers in the enforcement of immigration laws.
He said that if any of his officers conduct themselves unethically or outside the scope of the law, “we need to talk.”
Garsón had been in charge of the Mesa Police Department since August 2006, after serving in the Los Angeles Police Department for more than 28 years. In his final assignment before joining the Mesa Police he served as the LAPD’s Assistant Police Chief and Director over the Office of Operations.
He Received a B.A. degree in History from California State University, Long Beach, and a Juris Degree from Western State University, College of the 1Law, and is an active member of the California Bar Association.
You’re saying you’re going to follow the Constitution, is that right,” asked El Reportero’s editor.
Yes, responded Garcón.
Well, San Francisco, its mayor and the police, have been confiscating the cars of the undocumented for lack of a driver’s license, and this is unconstitutional, it is illegal,” said the reporter. “Unconstitutional in capital letter.”
The U.S. Constitution states that no private property shall be confiscated without due process.
This reporter handed in to the new chief a coy of former and highly decorated ex police officer Jack McLamb of Arizona, whose articles exposing government and police corruption, have been read and republished in dozens of media outlets.
The article’s headline states that, “Despite actions of police and local courts, higher courts have ruled that American citizens have a right to travel without state permits,” meaning no one is obligated by law to be demanded a driver’s license.
Garcón promised El Reportero to look into it, and to discuss the matter later.
The actions of the police confiscating the cars from the undocumented have been followed and covered by the El Reportero during the past three years, with both, editorials and news reports.
The Police and the Mayor’s Office, as well as the Board of Supervisors have put a deaf ear to the issue on the racial profiling going on within their motorcycle unit that end up in confiscation of automobiles. It’s a profitable business to the city, while it is a hardship to those poor and disadvantage people who lose theirs cars for simply making a wrong turn, or in most of the cases, looking too humble in an old model car, giving the impression to the cops, that they might be undocumented.
So, they become prime suspects instantly by some motorcycle officers who apparently have a grouch against immigrants, taking their cars and sending them home on foot, sometimes carrying bags of groceries with infants and elderly people.
None of the mainstream media present during the press conference at the Mayor’s office, said a word about the issue of confiscation mentioned by the El Reportero.
