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Your letters: Oxnard gang injunction August 3, 2004 Not a race issue Re: Dolly Villa's Aug. 1 letter, "Colonia Civil Rights Coalition organized to fight injunction": This in response to Ms. Villa's comment that the gang injunction is only to discriminate against Mexicans. Give me a break. The mayor of Oxnard is Hispanic; the majority of the Oxnard City Council is made up of minorities; the chief of police is Hispanic; 70 percent of the Oxnard business community are Hispanic, yet, Ms. Villa wants to make this a race issue. The support for the gang injunction came from the law-abiding citizens of Oxnard (of which the majority are Hispanic) who realize that the criminal and gang activities hurt both physically and economically all people of Oxnard. People within Colonia are not being outspoken in their support of ridding the community of gangs because of the fear of retaliation. If Ms. Villa wants to become a civil rights advocate, she should probably find a community where there is just cause or, better yet, use her energy to fight gangs, not support them. -- Alex Piskorowski, Thousand Oaks Injunction is useful Re: Dolly Villa's Aug. 1 letter "Colonia Civil Rights Coalition organized to fight injunction": I would encourage readers to go to the Oxnard Police Department's Web site if they want to get a more accurate description of the Colonia gang injunction. Villa made several misleading statements in her letter. She would have readers believe that the Safety Zone is Colonia and a "portion" of Oxnard. The truth is, Colonia is only a small part of the Safety Zone. She also talks about police receiving more "power" over the community. Once again, this "power" she speaks of involves less than 1 percent of the Oxnard population. This "power" is used to help keep Oxnard safe. There was a recent Star article about Colonia gang member Raymond Morales. I was present during the incident. He and another Colonia gang member fled from a stolen car after it was involved in a traffic collision. Morales fled into a residence that was occupied with several family members, including a 90-year-old grandmother. Officers located Morales hiding in the house, but the residents were afraid to have Morales arrested for entering their home. If it wasn't for the injunction, Morales would have been allowed to go free and continue this type of behavior in the community. We were allowed to take Morales into custody without naming the family members as victims because Morales violated the injunction. This is what the injunction is used for. Does Villa consider this harassment? Villa also mentions that the Colonia community and the rest of those in the Safety Zone are forced to live by the "rules for living" in the injunction. She forgot to mention that you have to be a Colonia gang member and that you have to have been served with the injunction papers (less than 1 percent of the population). She also mentions that Dallas Cowboys clothing can't be worn in 25 percent of the city. She keeps forgetting to mention that this is for less than 1 percent of the population. Someone once mentioned in a letter to the editor that it was important that I identify myself as a police officer. I am an Oxnard police officer and I have done more, and will do more, for the community than Villa will ever do. -- Bakari Myers, Port Hueneme Police overreach Oxnard Police Chief Art Lopez's response to Oxnard City Council candidate Dolly Villa's allegations of police harassment illustrates what civil rights activists have claimed since the gang injunction was first unveiled. We have warned repeatedly that a critical danger is police overreach and intimidation of ordinary citizens who are not gang members. The police responded on their Web site, in court and in the press that only "urban terrorists" had anything to fear, that "99.5 percent of Oxnard's population would not be subject in any way to the prohibitions of this injunction" (http://www.oxnardpd.org/GangInjunction.htm). But when confronted with Ms. Villa's allegations, Chief Lopez now expands police powers to cover not just gang members but also the nebulous category of "gang associate." According to the chief, an "associate" is someone "who has had a number of contacts" with gang members. Obviously, that would include for investigation thousands of ordinary citizens, including teachers, neighbors and family members. Chief Lopez also justified the surveillance and questioning of Ms. Villa, a law-abiding football fan, by claiming, "She has been seen in her Dallas Cowboys attire." This comment comes just one day after Mr. Lopez assured the public: "The guys we are concerned about aren't true Dallas Cowboy fans. Our guys know who the gang members are. They are easy to pick out." That's reassuring, Chief. For a minute I thought the easy ones to pick out were Oxnard City Council candidates who are critical of police misconduct. -- David Howard, Ojai reflections Teach me to feel another's woe, To hide the fault I see; That mercy I to others show, That mercy show to me. Alexander Pope, 1688-1744, "The Universal Prayer" News Topics | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People| Life in a Gang | Gallery | Iraqi Cards | Memorial | Migration | Graffiti | Resume| Injunctions Homicides | Maps | California Prisons | Contact

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