Alaska’s branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing police and the city of Palmer, located to the north of Anchorage. It claims that a Peruvian man, Alex Caceda, was unlawfully detained by police officers over his legal status after ending up bloodied and beaten when he attempted to intervene in a bar fight.
According to Tara Rich, an attorney for the ACLU, the lawsuit is a challenge to the rights of local law enforcement officers to be able to make civil arrests related to immigration issues, claiming that local police departments have no authority to do so under state or federal law. The suit was filed on behalf of Caceda, who was engaged in security work at a Palmer bar and attempted to assist a female bartender who was being assaulted. Three men assaulted him, leaving him with wounds to the face and head.
The police arrested the three men, but Caceda was then asked by Officer Kristi Muilenburg if he was from Alaska and whether he had a valid state driver’s license. When Caceda used a passport as his ID, saying that he came from Peru, Muilenburg asked a dispatcher to get in touch with federal immigration officials.
The lawsuit states that Caceda had no legal status at the time but is married to a citizen of the US. He spent four nights in jail before his eventual release, while noting that the men who assaulted him were not prosecuted.