2/19/23
As reported previously, the Human Rights Zone was subjected to an intrusion last Wednesday by two heavily armed, uniformed men, who issued threats against our neighbors and ultimately took Philip away in handcuffs. Two days later, we were able to locate him at the Correctional Center in downtown Bridgeport, where I went on Friday to put some money in his inmate account and to attempt (unsuccessfully) to visit him. We are still trying to communicate with Philip, in particular to get a sense of what his needs might be in terms of legal assistance. Philip has several catastrophic health issues that make the prospect of prison a life-threatening ordeal. Several friends have come forward since my original posting with offers to help get him out, for which we are very grateful and to which we will be responding as his legal situation gets clarified.
Back at Amistad, we continue to pursue a complaint against the New Haven Police Department for this obvious breach of law and privacy, and this is where the plot seems to be thickening rapidly. In the immediate aftermath of the incident on Wednesday, after I had gone inside to call the police department and our local alderperson, the backyard neighbors witnessed one of the uniformed men returning and taking photos of all of the tents and living spaces. Meanwhile, the police department refused to patch me through by phone to the sergeant responsible for handling complaints, instead obliging me to send her an email, which I promptly did. I then spoke to Alderperson Evelyn Rodriguez, who was perturbed enough by the story to do her own inquiry with the police. I was then called back by someone at NHPD, who assured me that a Sargent Sanders would be handling this complaint and would call me before the end of the day. (That call never came.)
Later the same night, after returning from a public meeting at city hall, there were several texts and missed calls from Ms. Rodriguez, expressing an eagerness to get more specific information from me about what had happened. There was also a message from my friend Colleen Shaddox, who had taken the time to search online for information about the armed, uniformed person who had given his name. Colleen found the following links to two stories about Mr. Angel Guadalupe: https://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROap/66ap36.pdf; https://www.wpri.com/news/bounty-hunters-fight-kidnapping-charges/. The “officers” were bounty hunters, not police, and in 2018 Mr. Guadalupe was prosecuted federally for kidnapping after a similar incident in Rhode Island.
As the hour was late, I decided not to call the alderperson, and instead texted her the two links Colleen had provided. I sent them also by email to Sgt. Sanders at NHPD. The result of that action: complete silence. I have not been contacted by either of those individuals or their offices again. Repeated calls and texts to Ms. Rodriguez have gone unacknowledged and unanswered. On Saturday I finally sent her the following text:
“You are my aldermanic representative. I demand to know if the NHPD hired those two thugs who impersonated police officers and terrorized me and my neighbors last Wednesday, and if not, why they have not been arrested yet. Please respond, so that we can adequately inform our lawyers about how this situation is being addressed by those responsible. Thank you.”
Alder Rodriguez continues to ignore me.
Needless to say, it appears as though we may need another lawyer- or maybe more! We are particularly zealous to ensure that our backyard neighbors receive an apology and an assurance that this will never happen again; the implications are quite serious for both the security and trust level of those who frequent the Human Rights Zone. Regrettably, the city’s sudden disengagement and silence are an ominous indication that neither are forthcoming without a public, and probably legal struggle. For me that fight will begin tomorrow (Monday) morning, when I go to police headquarters personally and demand to file a written complaint. After that, I am clueless as to how to proceed within the system, so if there’s a lawyer out there who is interested in taking up this case on our behalf, please be in touch as soon as is convenient.
And let’s pray that our friend Philip comes home, quickly and in one piece.
Thank you.
Mark Colville
Amistad Catholic Worker 
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏