On Monday, Desert View students protested the Pima County Sheriff’s Office after one of their fellow students, living in the country illegally, was arrested following a traffic stop. While Sheriff Mark Napier commended the students and school officials for their “peaceful protest,” he expressed concerns with some organizers of the protest.
Related article: Group Of Desert View Students March For Detained Illegal Classmate, Call To Fight Stonegarden
Napier made his concerns known in a post on Facebook. He wrote:
Through observation, the Sheriff’s Department identified two members of CLEPC as potential organizers of the protest. In an attempt to prevent the possible spread of misinformation before the planned Board of Supervisors vote on Stonegarden, the following is a summary of what took place the night of the traffic stop.
On the evening of May 2, 2019, at approximately 2156 hours a traffic stop was initiated by a deputy sheriff in reference to a mandatory insurance suspension on the vehicle; a clear situation of reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop. The deputy is assigned to our DUI enforcement unit and was conducting normal traffic enforcement duties. He was not assigned to any Rural Safety Initiative or Stonegarden Operation. Upon making initial contact with the driver, the deputy requested identification as we do in all traffic enforcement situations. The driver was unable to provide any valid identification. The deputy made multiple attempts at identifying the driver during his traffic investigation to include contacting a family member. Ultimately, the driver identified himself as Thomas Torres-Maytorena. He admitted to the deputy that he was in the country illegally. It was at this point Border Patrol was contacted. Border Patrol proceeded to take custody of Torres-Maytorena.
The actions of the deputy are what the Sheriff would expect of any deputy under similar circumstances. The deputy conducted a thorough investigation and utilized all resources available to him in an attempt to identify the driver. Identification of the driver was fundamentally necessary and required to issue valid traffic citations. When informed by Torres-Maytorena that he did not have legal status, the deputy contacted the federal agency in charge of immigration (USBP). In regard to state traffic laws, Torres-Maytorena was given a traffic citation for displaying a plate suspended for financial responsibility, no mandatory insurance, no valid driver’s license, and no current registration. The vehicle was immobilized pursuant to ARS 28-3511.
[metaslider id=65385]
Napier has been under fire by opponents to Stonegarden. There had also been speculation that the arrest of Torres-Maytorena was orchestrated by anti-Napier forces in and out of the Sheriff’s Office, in order to heighten the fears opponents have already ginned up about working with Border Patrol through Operation Stonegarden.
Progressives have systematically used the Stonegarden issue in an effort to weaken Napier’s community support in anticipation of the 2020 General Election. Napier is the first Republican to be elected to the Sheriff’s Office in decades.