OFF THE WIRE
BY: Thomas Himes
Source: whittierdailynews.com
BALDWIN PARK - Critics of police checkpoints are accusing Baldwin Park officers of conducting illegal police checkpoints - and they say they have a videotape to prove it.
An activist posted a video on youtube.com showing two Baldwin Park Police officers blocking one lane of traffic and then stopping cars in the other lane.
On the June 11 tape, officers do not follow checkpoint practices required by courts, such as using random formulas to choose which cars to stop or posting warning signs. On the recording, one officer says he is only making sure drivers have licenses, which critics argue is patently illegal because an officer has no probable cause to question whether someone is licensed.
Delivery man Art Gamboa holds his video camera in front of the Baldwin Park Police Station in Baldwin Park on Friday, Sept. 17, 2010. Gamboa recently videotaped a Baldwin Park Police checkpoint. (SGVN/Staff photo by Watchara Phomicinda)"To me it wasn't a legitimate checkpoint," said Art Gamboa, a Maywood resident who shot the video and who is a frequent critic of the way police conduct checkpoints.
"It looked nothing like other checkpoints I've seen and what the California Supreme Court has said checkpoints are supposed to look like," Gamboa said.
Police checkpoints have come under scrutiny in Baldwin Park after drivers caught up in the roadblocks accused officers of illegally impounding their cars.
The council listened to residents' concerns and in August directed the police department to cease checkpoints and draft policies governing their use.
The issues is scheduled to come before the City Council in October.
Police Chief Lili Hadsell said the roadblock on the tape was not an official checkpoint. She termed the practice a "selective enforcement detail."
"The main difference is at a checkpoint we're required to send out a press release, set up signs and (follow other procedures)," she said.
Baldwin Park Police Lieutenant David Reynoso said selective enforcement efforts like the one depicted in the video are a common practice in the city.
"It's really no different than an officer driving around and stopping traffic violators," Baldwin Park Police Lt. David Reynoso said. "Nothing precludes an officer from stopping vehicles in that manner for violations of the law."
Law enforcement expert Bill Flores said the checkpoint violates a number of guidelines established by the state and U.S. supreme courts.
Flores is a 29-year veteran of law enforcement who retired as a command staff member of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
"Because of the line of questioning the officer made, it leads to me believe it was a driver's license checkpoint, which is in violation of state vehicle code," said Flores, who is also a member of El-Grupo, a San Diego based organization that challenges the legality of how checkpoints are used.
The city's top administrator, Vijay Singhal refused to say whether the council would consider regulating "selective enforcement details" when it takes up the checkpoint issue.
"I guess you'll have to wait to see what comes before the council," Singhal said.
Mayor Manuel Lozano declined to comment. He said he will wait for Hadsell to present the new policies.
"In October, that's when we're all going to find out to make sure we're on the right track for any future checkpoints," Lozano said.
In Bell, the U.S. Justice Department is investigating allegations city officials violated the civil rights of Latinos by seizing their vehicles in a revenue generating scheme, according to news reports.
Public sentiment and the courts seems to be turning against checkpoints that don't follow court guidelines, Flores said.
"Police agencies that engage in creative checkpoints may well find themselves in a court of law having to explain the legality of their own version of checkpoints," Flores said.
Thomas.himes@sgvn.com
626-962-8811, ext. 2477
Read more: Critics say youtube.com tape shows illegal Baldwin Park Police checkpoint - Whittier Daily News http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_16174688#ixzz10f0Pk000
