Greg Allen, Chief of Police
City of El Paso
300 N. Campbell
El Paso, Texas 79901
Dear Chief Allen,
Yesterday, starting at around 6:30pm, more than two dozen police were observed inside the fenced perimeter of the “Arena Footprint” in Duranguito practicing riot control. They conducted mock street battles, with yelling and physical contact.
This video and the five attached photographs were shot yesterday between 7:00 and 8:00pm.
Obviously, the presence of riot police in Duranguito alarmed the neighborhood residents, who have vivid memories of September 12, 2017, when dozens of your officers physically confronted them and their supporters while the City attempted to bulldoze their neighborhood.
Sir, I understand the need to be prepared for any eventuality, but why did you order your police officers to conduct riot training in the middle of a Mexican-American barrio that has already suffered so much at the hands of City employees?
Why don’t you instead conduct the riot training in Madeline Park in Kern Place, on Thunderbird Drive in Coronado, or at White Spur Park in the Upper Valley, where there is ample space for such exercises?
Better yet, why don’t you conduct the training along Villa Encanto Drive, off Sunset Road in the Upper Valley? That is a gated community that is also surrounded by a fence, and it is home to former mayor Dee Margo, who would enjoy watching marching riot police.
As a homeowner whose taxes pay for the salaries, facilities and equipment of City police, I respectfully request that you not conduct riot training in our urban barrios.
Sincerely yours,
Max Grossman
El Paso, Texas
cc: Mayor Oscar Leeser
Representative Peter Svarzbein
Representative Alexsandra Annello
Representative Cassandra Hernandez
Representative Sam Molinar
Representative Isabel Salcido
Representative Claudia Lizette Rodriguez
Representative Henry Rivera
Representative Cissy Lizarraga
bcc: media and friends
