Mexican Army Disarms Tijuana Police
January 9th, 2007That thing is D O W N. And it’s all happening within sight of the United States.
Via: TVNZ:
Local police patrolled without their guns in Mexico’s tough border city of Tijuana on Saturday after soldiers disarmed them to check if the weapons had been used in drug gang crimes.
In the latest stage of a national crackdown on drug-related violence, more than 4,000 soldiers, sailors, federal and state police this week poured into Tijuana, where some members of the poorly paid municipal police force are suspected of helping drug hitmen in a war between rival gangs.
The army confiscated the local police’s handguns and rifles on Thursday and Friday to run ballistics tests. Many of the 2,300 municipal cops briefly stayed away from work, but most were back on the streets by Saturday, minus their weapons.
“We feel unprotected,” said 32-year-old city police officer Juan Betancourt.
“This is our main tool,” he said, brushing a hand over his empty holster as he walked along the tawdry Avenida de la Revolucion, lined with dingy bars and strip clubs.
…
The Tijuana police force was under orders to call in support from armed federal and state police in case of an armed incident they could not handle without their guns.
