Extortion Is Alleged in Tijuana

In an ongoing fight to combat corruption, the city attorney has accused 16 police officers of extorting hundreds of dollars from American tourists by falsely accusing them of crimes and threatening to throw them in jail.

The officers could be fired for their participation in the alleged extortion plots, which authorities say took place in the city’s tourist zone from November through June. They also could face criminal investigations.

The administrative cases are believed to be the first of their kind in Tijuana, a city working to shed its Wild West reputation and reinvent itself as a family-friendly destination.

“We are taking steps to return confidence to all the people who visit here,” said City Atty. Martin Dominguez Chiu.

Eight Americans complained to the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, which referred the cases to the city attorney’s office and is helping guide the Americans through the process.

Five administrative hearings have taken place, and three more are expected to be held in the coming weeks. After each hearing, a panel of six city officials and private citizens will determine whether the officers are guilty and decide what, if any, sanctions to impose. No decisions have been made, but the city attorney said he was recommending that all but two of the officers be fired.

The tourists, who are from California and Nevada, were forced to pay $70 to $600 to be let out of police cars or to avoid going to jail, authorities said. A few Americans were forced to take money out of ATMs, said Al Anzaldua, chief of American citizen services at the consulate. One man was pushed up against a wall while his pockets were searched, Anzaldua said.

Most of the Americans were accused by officers of having illegal drugs or medication, authorities said. Michael Wilson of Las Vegas and at least one other tourist also filed complaints with the district attorney for the Mexican state of Baja California, which could lead to a criminal investigation.

Wilson, 43, was visiting Tijuana in March and walking along Avenida Revolucion with a friend when two officers stopped them. The officers searched the pair and then held up two small packets, accusing them of having cocaine, Wilson said. The officers handcuffed the Americans and put the two in the back of the police car, warning that they were going to be jailed for at least three months, Wilson said. He said that he didn’t have any cocaine and that the packets were planted.

Wilson said the officers originally asked for $3,000, but settled for $500 and released him and his friend after being paid. Wilson said he hadn’t originally filed a complaint, but decided once he got home that he had to come forward.

“I didn’t want to let it go,” he said. “It was embarrassing; it was humiliating. I don’t care if it’s a foreign country or not, they can’t do that to me.” Wilson said he believes the strong-arm tactics will decrease if more Americans publicly complain.

Anzaldua said that it is not new for tourists to tell consular officials they have been victims of extortion but that, in the past, the city hasn’t gone to such lengths to hold officers accountable.

“As far as I know, this is unprecedented,” he said, adding that he was pleased with the high level of initiative and cooperation by city leaders. Tourists also are more willing now to report their experiences to Mexican authorities, he said.

The number of crooked officers is a small minority on a force of 1,500, Anzaldua said, but police corruption still keeps many Americans from visiting Mexico. “Millions of dollars in tourism have been lost because of this problem,” he said.

City leaders have taken several steps recently to make Tijuana’s streets safer, to rein in corrupt officers and to improve the Police Department’s image. Cameras have been installed along Avenida Revolucion. Tijuana also is educating visitors about their rights, issuing a legal guide for tourists and urging them not to pay bribes to police.

About 40 officers have been fired since the beginning of 2002, primarily for drug use, said Martin Dominguez Rocha, Tijuana’s head of public safety. This is the first time that officers might be fired for extorting money from American tourists, he said.

Dominguez Rocha said he wants to ensure that officers don’t use their uniforms and badges to scare tourists into thinking they have committed crimes and into paying illegal fines.

“The goal is to maintain ... a discipline of respect for the law, the regulations of the department and the rights of the citizens,” he said. “It’s just as serious, whether they extort one dollar or a million dollars.”

Police Chief Francisco Arellano said the tourists’ willingness to come forward shows that they trust the city to conduct investigations and to punish officers if they are guilty.

Arellano said extortion cases are isolated within his department. “They aren’t common,” he said, “but they shouldn’t happen at all.”