Southgate Police Face Scrutiny Over Jaywalking and Immigration Stops

In the early hours of a June Tuesday, a seemingly routine jaywalking incident in Southgate escalated into a significant immigration enforcement scenario. Officer Alexander Zielinski stopped three individuals crossing a street near a hotel and a gas station, leading to outcomes that varied drastically based on their identification.

Different Outcomes for Jaywalking

While a middle-aged white woman was issued a citation and allowed to return to her hotel room to retrieve her ID, two young Spanish-speaking men found themselves surrounded by Officer Zielinski and three other officers. The encounter, captured on body-worn cameras, lasted about half an hour until Border Patrol agents arrived and arrested the men.

According to legal experts, stopping individuals based on race or language is generally not permissible. However, pretextual stops, where an officer uses minor violations as a reason to investigate further, are a common practice. Stephen Rushin, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago, explained, “Instead, they look for some technical violation, often of traffic code, to give them that legal justification to make that stop.”

The Southgate incident is one among numerous cases where local police notified immigration enforcement following minor violations like broken tail lights or tinted windows, as reported by Michigan Public and Outlier Media.

Communication Barriers and Concerns

Throughout the encounter, communication issues arose as the men spoke only Spanish. Officer Zielinski noted in his report, “Two of them don’t speak English.” Despite their attempts to communicate their sobriety, the officers focused on their immigration status. Bodycam footage revealed minimal audio content due to either redaction or manual muting, raising concerns about compliance with Southgate Police Department’s policies on camera usage.

While the woman was released with a citation, the men remained detained until Border Patrol’s arrival. “You can only imagine the look on my face when I saw all three of them cross the street the first time,” Officer Zielinski remarked, highlighting the officers’ preconceived notions of the situation.

Community and Policy Implications

Police Chief Mark Mydlarz and other Southgate officials did not respond to inquiries about the incident. Experts, including Thaddeus Johnson, a fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, emphasized the potential negative impacts of such stops on community trust and efficient resource use.

Southgate police have contacted Border Patrol multiple times this year, a notable increase from previous years. In one case, a traffic stop for an air freshener led to the arrest of two individuals based on their Guatemalan IDs. Another incident involved direct questioning of immigration status during a license plate violation stop.

During the Southgate jaywalking stop, CBP agents eventually handcuffed the men and took them into custody, thanking local officers for the call. Officer Zielinski noted the smoothness of the operation compared to previous instances. The future of the two men following their detention remains unknown.

Outlier Media’s Koby Levin contributed to this story.