http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-costa3mar03,1,5390374.story?coll=la-news-politics-california
Council Meeting Arrest Sparks Lawsuit
A foe of Costa Mesa's plan for immigration enforcement
says he was silenced, held illegally.
By Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writer
March 3, 2006
A Costa Mesa immigrants rights advocate filed a
federal lawsuit against the city of Costa Mesa, its
mayor and police chief Thursday, contending the city
violated his 1st Amendment rights when he was ordered
to stop speaking before the City Council in January
and removed by police.
The activist, Benito Acosta, also alleges that after
his remarks — about the city's plan to help enforce
federal immigration law — city police beat him.
Acosta, with the help of the American Civil Liberties
Union, is seeking $25,000 in damages.
"It appears, from the time when the city started to
enter into these controversial topics, a certain voice
is being suppressed while other voices can be heard,"
said Belinda Escobosa Helser, attorney for Acosta, who
also goes by the name Coyotl Tezcalipoca.
"It's clear from Coyotl's case that he was not allowed
to debate an issue that potentially has wide-reaching
effects," Helser said.
The city was mostly mum in response. Mayor Allan
Mansoor declined to comment "right now," as did police
spokesman Sgt. Marty Carver. City Atty. Kimberly Hall
Barlow said she couldn't comment on the suit because
she hadn't seen it.
Acosta also asked in the lawsuit that the city be
prohibited from enforcing part of its municipal code
that gives the mayor wide discretion about who can
speak at City Council meetings.
The lawsuit is the latest salvo in an ongoing
controversy about the City Council's plan to allow
city police to enforce some federal immigration laws.
Acosta, a 24-year-old student at Orange Coast College
in Costa Mesa, was speaking against the policy at a
Jan. 3 City Council meeting.
Video footage of the meeting shows that Acosta
criticized three council members who approved the use
of police to check the immigration status of felony
suspects. He accused them of trying to get rid of the
city's Latino population:
"We know you want to change the demographics of Costa
Mesa. We know your plot…. We will fight this to the
end. If anyone agrees with me, stand up."
Mansoor cut him off before the three minutes that any
speaker is allotted at council meetings and called a
recess at 6:58 p.m. The council returned at 7:35 p.m.
During the recess, Acosta was arrested on suspicion of
disturbing an assembly, interfering with a council
meeting and resisting a police officer. The district
attorney declined to prosecute.
The city attorney's office is considering filing
misdemeanor charges of disrupting a municipal public
assembly. Barlow said Thursday that her office's
investigation was continuing.
Helser said the police beat Acosta and that he
suffered bruises, a sprained neck and injuries to his
back, arm and head.
According to the lawsuit, Mansoor allowed Jim
Gilchrist, co-founder of the Minuteman Project, a
citizens' border patrol campaign, to speak for more
than the allotted three minutes and allowed people in
the audience to stand in support of Gilchrist's
comments.
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"It sounds like you're the kind of driver who need to
take your keys and drive them up your *****." -- Chuck
.
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