26 Arrested in Drug Sweep Under Watchful Eye of Latino Activists

SANTA ANA —  Police arrested 26 people Friday in a six-hour operation that targeted narcotics dealers in city parks, authorities said.

Sgt. Kevin Brown said the suspects were booked on suspicion of possession of narcotics, probation violations and outstanding warrants. He declined to elaborate.

Earlier in the day, officials of several immigrants-rights groups expressed concern about the raids, saying they feared that the police would cooperate with agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to “intimidate detainees.”

Brown said Friday night that he did not know if the police had turned over any of those arrested to the INS.

Santa Ana Police Lt. Bob Chavez said officers fanned out in the area of Myrtle, Brook and Townsend streets, hoping to snare drug dealers by actually witnessing sales or by posing as buyers. Neighbors have repeatedly complained to police that the area is plagued with narcotics peddlers, Chavez said.

The Police Department invited the INS to send representatives to Jerome Park, the staging area for the police operation.

Although the INS did not participate in the narcotics sweep, federal officers were allowed to question detainees about their immigration status.

Those cited and released on misdemeanor drug counts could be detained on the spot by the INS if they were found to be undocumented, Chavez said. Those suspected of felonies were taken into custody by the police--regardless of their immigration status, and pursued separately by the INS if warranted, Chavez said.

The strategy sparked the concern of Latino rights groups such as Hermandad Mexicana Nacional and the League of Latin American Citizens, which sent members to a pre-sweep briefing to question Chavez. Hermandad director Nativo Lopez said cooperation between the INS and the police turns the arresting officer into “judge, jury and deporter at the same time” and intimidates detainees.

But Chavez defended the tactic, saying the INS was an important “tool” for getting drug dealers off the streets.

“If they’re criminals, nobody wants them here,” Chavez said.

When Hermandad and LULAC officials first heard about the operation, they said they were alarmed because they thought that Santa Ana police and the INS were teaming up on an immigration sweep.

The Police Department has promised not to conduct such joint operations, and violating that pledge could destroy the slowly rebuilding trust between the Latino community and the police, Lopez said.

But Chavez reassured Latino officials that no one would be arrested unless they were seen participating in a drug transaction.

“I’m satisfied,” Lopez said. “We were alarmed because we though that this was a fallback in their position, but I’m glad to hear that it is not.”