Mayor Taco, 4 Racist Cops, A Good Padre and a Terrorized Latino Community

When you first hear about what happened in New Haven, CT, you think it is a funny story. "Local Latino Group sends Mayor Hundreds of Tacos." But once you delve into the story a bit, you begin to realize the enormity of the abuse Latinos and Minorities have been suffering at the hands of local police for years. The abuse was so extreme, local groups and a Priest asked the DOJ to conduct an investigation.
This past week, the DOJ brought charges against 4 East Haven police officers. They were known as Miller’s Boys, police officers who worked the 4-to-midnight shift, patrolling the largely working-class town of East Haven, Conn., including the small but growing Hispanic community that has spread out in recent years from New Haven.
The officers were more than well known in that community; according to residents and federal authorities, they were FEARED. They stopped and detained people, particularly LATINOS, for no reason. Sometimes they slapped, hit and kicked them when they were handcuffed, and smashed heads into walls. They followed and arrested Latinos and also a local priest - Father Manship, who tried to film their behavior. Father Manship heard about the abuse from his congregation and local store owners. Father Manship bravely tried to film the abuses. Instead he was arrested, with false charges. Miller's Boys claimed he had a gun. He did not. They knew he had a camera. The prosecutor dismissed the charges when the Priest's video tape proved his innocence and proved Miller's Boys were LYING. When the DOJ was asked to investigate, the Prosecutor was supportive of the investigation.

The DOJ indicted (click here to read the indictment) Miller's Boys on charges of conspiracy, false arrest, excessive force and obstruction of justice over what the indictment described as years of mistreatment of individuals, especially Hispanics, and efforts to cover it up. Additionally, the DOJ discovered their racist behavior has been condoned by their Sheriff -- Sheriff Gallo (Co-conspirator 1), a good friend of Mayor (taco) Maturo.
In the 80's and 90's, Sheriff Gallo was part of the old racist brigade that targeted Blacks. Gallo was promoted to Sheriff a few years ago by his good friend, Mayor Maturo, where Gallo (Co Conspirator 1) clearly supported the attacks against Latinos. However, after Maturo left office in 2009, Gallo found himself in hot water with the new Mayor for all of the racist shenanigans by his cops. That was when Gallo was suspended. In 2011, Gallo's friend, Maturo ran for Mayor again and this time - by some means - he won the election. He won by less than 40 votes. Mayor (taco) Maturo' first official act was to bring his friend Sheriff Gallo back as Chief and end his suspension. During their press conference announcing Gallo's re-instatement in November, 2011, he claimed the DOJ investigation was trumped up and would produce nothing.
We've heard the story before: "Racist Cops Terrorize a Latino Community." In Maricopa County Arizona, Arpaio and his masked goons have served as role models for other ANTI Latino goons looking to conduct "Suppression Sweeps" of their own in their Latino Communities. These attacks became popular among the right wing extremists right after the 2006 Immigration marches. The minutemen, Shawna Forde, the murderers of Luis Ramires, Brisenia Flores and her dad, Marcelo Lucero, the murderer Dannie Baker, and countless others have viciously attacked Latinos simply due to the color of their skin and using their so called "Fear of Dirty Mexicans and illeegals" as their rallying cry. What happened in East Haven, Connecticut is a mirror image of what happens in Maricopa County Arizona every day under Arpaio's watch.
The big difference in Connecticut is, these terroristic actions against Latinos have not been reported in the National Media. I only heard of these events recently when the silly story about tacos being sent to the Mayor's office appeared on CNN.
This makes me curious about how rampant racial profiling abuse against Latinos by local police is all across the nation. I believe this abuse and racial profiling is the true root cause of the higher rate of crimes against Latinos and also for the increased rate of deportations of Latinos over recent years.
The positive aspect about this report being on CNN and other news and internet outlets is, the Bad Guys have been indicted by the DOJ and everyone knows about it. The tactics by Mayor Taco, the evil Sheriff and the terroristic, racist "Miller's Boys" are National News now. They have been charged and they will be held accountable! They and other corrupt police officers who are abusing and racially profiling Latinos will take notice when these criminals are prosecuted for their crimes!
Finally the people of East Haven will have some relief from these racist goons who have been terrorizing them for years.
We owe this largely to a brave, good and honorable Padrecito, Father James Manship, for standing strong when he videod the tactics of these goons. Let this be a lesson for ALL LATINOS who are profiled. We must stand strong and together to forever end the abuse!

Racist "Eat Tacos" Mayor Must Resign Now!!!

NYTimes reports: Hispanic residents and civil-rights advocates have raised alarms for years about the police in East Haven, Conn. Their claims gained chilling corroboration on Tuesday. The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a sergeant and three officers on charges of terrorizing the town’s Hispanic neighborhoods, stopping and detaining people, searching businesses without cause, beating people in handcuffs, smashing a man’s head into a wall.

The charges echoed what the Justice Department reported in December, accusing East Haven police of widespread “biased policing, unconstitutional searches and seizures and the use of excessive force.” This was made more appalling when the mayor, Joseph Maturo Jr., was asked by a reporter how he would respond to the arrests and said that he might have tacos for dinner. First, he said he was joking. When it dawned on him that snide flippancy was the wrong response to grave accusations of police brutality, he said he was sorry for his “off-collar comment.”

That is not enough. Mayor Maturo should now resign. He has shown a stunning incapacity for understanding the severity of the scandal in his government and has been fatally compromised by his knee-jerk support for the tainted police department and its chief. The mayor’s repugnant remark is the least of it. This case is about institutional brutality and oppression.

The East Haven case is one squalid part of the far larger furor over immigration, where Spanish-speaking people are met with suspicion and abuse and states and localities rush to pass laws empowering local police officers to harass presumed illegal immigrants. Racial-profiling is flourishing in this climate, and the Obama administration has rightly stepped up efforts to fight it. Judging from the racism so casually exhibited by Mr. Maturo, it’s going to be a long struggle.