NEWS
Saturday, July 19, 2003
A group calling themselves the Ann Arbor Bill of Rights Defense Committee thinks the Ann Arbor Police might have been more involved with the deportation of former Ann Arbor resident Rabih Haddad than they're letting on, stating the following in a press release this week:"After an initial denial by AAPD Public Relations Officer George Patak, Lieutenant Detective Chris Heatley also confirmed last week that the AAPD officers have been attending Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force meetings since before Haddad's arrest. When asked if the AAPD had prior knowledge or participated in the arrest, Heatley stated, "I have no comment."
A refusal to comment is an admission of nothing. However, given government claims and Haddad's significant ties to Ann Arbor it seems unlikely that the AAPD had no role whatsoever in Haddad's arrest. It seems more likely that the AAPD shared intelligence with the JTTF, participated in planning, offered backup, or, perhaps, even undertook surveillance of Haddad's activities in Ann Arbor. These are all matters that should be addressed in a public investigation.
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According to yesterday's Ann Arbor News, a press release from ICE (formerly INS) headquarters in Washington, DC hailed Haddad's deportation and claimed "This action is also a testament to the cooperation between law enforcement agencies in pursuing and removing those individuals linked to terrorism." The people of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County have a right to know if their police forces participated or plan to participate in unjust or unconstitutional federal law enforcement operations like the arrest of Haddad. It is noteworthy, too, that Ann Arbor's recently adopted civil liberties resolution would likely not prevent AAPD participation in future arrests of other immigrants who like Haddad are accused of threatening national security."
Posted by Rob at 1:34 AM
