An immigrant rights group claimed victory Sunday in its effort to disrupt a Los Angeles police drunken driving checkpoint, saying the operation was unfairly aimed at impounded the vehicles of unlicensed Latinos, some of whom cannot afford to get their cars back.
“There were at least 20 of us there,” Ron Gochez of the Southern California Immigration Coalition said. “At least 300 vehicles were turned away,” during the drunken driving and license checkpoint, which started Saturday evening and wrapped up early -- about 10 p.m. Such operations typically continue into the early morning hours.
Well in advance of the checkpoint, Los Angeles police issued a statement, saying police would be on Florence Avenue, west of Western Avenue -- a legal requirement under the terms of federal grants that pay for such operations.
Police later issued another statement, saying that the location was changed to Manchester Avenue and the Harbor (110) Freeway, due to weather.
But the activists were undeterred.
“It literally hailed while we were out there,” said Gochez. “From my estimation it was more than worth it.”
The checkpoint was to begin at about 6 p.m., and Sgt. Sam Mark of the South Bureau Traffic said the operation ended at about 9:30 or 10 p.m. with 10 drunken driving arrests.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
No information about how many cars were impounded or how many people were cited for driving without a valid license. Mark said he did not have that information.
Regardless of intent, the checkpoints result in illegal immigrants having their cars taken away, said activists. The vehicles are impounded for up to 30 days, and the charges racked up often make the cars too expensive to retrieve.
In some cases, impounded cars can be sold, with the proceeds going toward any lien holder, then the police agency that seized them.
Gochez said drunken drivers can recover their vehicles within a couple of days, while those cited for having no license, or an invalid one, cannot afford to pay impound, towing or storage fees, which he said can easily come to about $1,000.
“Don't take cars away from people who aren't drunk,” said Gochez. “Stealing cars from undocumented immigrants has become a multimillion-dollar industry that is now being used to alleviate the city's and state budget deficit.
“In 2009, the state of California shamefully profited $40 million from these checkpoints.”
The watch commander at the South Traffic Division did not want to talk about allegations early Sunday, nor did a LAPD Media Relations officer.
Gochez called on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to allow seized cars to be retrieved by legal residents, rather than be hauled off to impound yards for up to 30 days. Similar programs have been adopted in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, he said
