Police team up to fight gang crime in a Latino community

Hector Castro:

Less than a week after another shooting in South Park left residents shaken and scared, local police and federal agents yesterday announced plans for a renewed push to fight gangs and other violence in the Latino community.

"This isn't about a sweep or a crackdown or illegal immigration," Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said. "This is about violent crime."

In response to several killings and assaults in Latino communities in South Park, White Center, Kent and Federal Way, several agencies decided to team up to combat the problem.

"We have to stop the violence in our community," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Kelvin Crenshaw, after a news conference yesterday at Seattle Police Headquarters.

The agencies involved include the police departments of Seattle, Kent and Federal Way, the King County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, the U.S. Marshal's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Officials with the Mexican Consulate in Seattle also will participate, said Consul Jorge Madrazo.

Since March 2004, five people have been killed and at least three people seriously injured by gunfire in South Park, and other shootings have occurred in Normandy Park, Federal Way and Everett.

"There are at least seven Mexican families mourning today because their kids were killed," Madrazo said.

Two of those families, those of Fernando Esqueda and Omar Chavez, who both died in South Park shootings, showed up at a community meeting Wednesday.

The parents of both young men asked for more police protection.

Kerlikowske said it's that plea that is driving the agencies to combine efforts.

"We want the Latino community to know that we're there to protect them," he said.

While some of the violence can be attributed to gangs, some is the result of other criminal activity -- or simple arguments, Kerlikowske said. But at least two killings last year were gang-related, he said.

"This isn't Los Angeles, but on the other hand, we clearly know and recognize there are gang issues," Kerlikowske said.

While local police officials tread carefully before labeling any act of violence gang-related, nationally there has been a renewed emphasis on policing gangs.

Last month, Congress passed a tough anti-gang bill that expands the range of gang crimes punishable by death, sets minimum mandatory sentences and will allow teenage gang members as young as 16 to be tried as adults in federal courts.

The measure was prompted in part by the acts of violent gangs, particularly the notorious El Salvadoran gang MS-13.

"We do have MS-13 gang members here," Kerlikowske acknowledged.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Friedman said he is working with the other agencies to determine the number of gangs in the area, and identify the most violent.

"We need to find out what is the scope of the gang problem," he said.

The crimes cited by the agencies involve victims and suspects from the Latino community, some who have strong ties to Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Officials said those international links make investigating these cases unique, because suspects can slip across international borders and out of the reach of U.S. authorities.

Shootings bring police pledge of trust, protection to Latino community

Police meet with South Park residents about gun violence