Why AZ did the right thing
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/30/ar … ot-desert/
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — Authorities in southern Arizona were searching Friday for a wounded deputy who radioed for help and said he had been shot with an AK-47 assault rifle in a remote desert area used by drug- and human-smugglers from Mexico.
The unidentified deputy called in to say he had encountered a group and been shot in the abdomen, Pinal County sheriff’s Lt. Tammy Villar said.
Further details on the shooting were not immediately available.
“Over the past 12 months we’ve seen an increase in the amount of drugs, and an increase in violence that has been going on in this particular corridor,” Villar told KPNX.
“We’ve had increasing concerns in this area about being outmanned and outgunned, and unfortunately this evening, this is coming true,” he said.
The shooting came as Arizona grapples with backlash over its enactment of a tough new law targeting illegal immigration. Civil rights activists concerned the law will lead to racial profiling have called for a boycott of the state.
The law signed by Gov. Jan Brewer last week is supported by many in the state, which has become a major gateway for drug smuggling and human trafficking from Mexico.
Its passage came amid increasing anger in Arizona about violence, drug smugglers, drop houses and other problems caused by poor border security.
Villar said the search for the wounded officer was occurring near Interstate 8 and Arizona 84 about 50 miles south of Phoenix.
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PHOENIX — Law officers backed by helicopters hunted gunmen in Arizona’s desert early Saturday after a sheriff’s deputy was wounded by suspected illegal immigrants believed to be smuggling marijuana, officials said. The violent episode came amid nationwide debate over the state’s tough new immigration law.
Pinal County Deputy Louie Puroll was patrolling alone Friday afternoon in a rugged area near Interstate 8, about 50 miles south of Phoenix, when he came upon a band of suspected smugglers, authorities said.
At least one of five suspects opened fire on the 53-year-old lawman, tearing a chunk of skin from just above his left kidney. The officer was found after a frantic hourlong search, Pinal County sheriff’s Lt. Tamatha Villar said.
The wound was not serious and Puroll was released Friday night from Casa Grande Regional Medical Center.
State and federal law enforcement agencies deployed helicopters and scores of officers to search a 100 square-mile zone near the Interstate and Arizona 84 for the suspects. The Arizona Republic reported officials said more than one of the choppers came under fire during the manhunt.
April 29: A a drop house is raided by state and federal agents, yielding nine suspected illegal immigrants, and three suspected human smugglers in Phoenix.
The Pinal Sheriff’s department told The Associated Press that the hunt into the early morning hours Saturday but no arrests had been made.
The shooting was likely to add fuel to an already fiery national debate sparked last week when Gov. Jan Brewer signed a law cracking down on illegal immigration in the state.
A backlash over the law has surged with civil rights activists, concerned it will lead to racial profiling, calling for protests and a boycott of the state.
The new law’s passage came amid increasing anger in Arizona about violence, drug smugglers, illegal immigration drop houses and other problems that some say are caused by poor border security. The issue gained focus a month ago when a southern Arizona rancher was shot and killed by a suspected illegal border crosser.
Arizona politicians called Friday’s shooting an outrage and urged the federal government to do more to secure the border with Mexico.
“Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s manhunt and investigation, Arizona is now confronted by some of the most vicious and dangerous narco-terror organizations the world has seen,” Brewer said in a statement.
Rep. Kirkpatrick, a Democrat whose district includes part of Pinal County, said the violence “should show the rest of the country what we Arizonans have known for too long — the unsecured border poses a very real and very immediate danger.”
Puroll, a 15-year department veteran, had been carrying out smuggling interdiction work before finding the bales of marijuana and encountering the five suspected illegal immigrants, two armed with rifles.
“He was out on his routine daily patrol in the area when he encountered a load of marijuana out in the desert. He obviously confronted the individuals and took fire,” Villar told The AP.
The Republic quoted Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu as saying about 30 bullets were fired at the deputy, who returned fire with a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun.
The area is a well-known smuggling corridor for drugs and illegal immigrants headed from Mexico to Phoenix and the U.S. interior.
“(Puroll) is a search-and-rescue deputy, so its not uncommon for them to work those areas A) looking for drugs and B) looking for people who need assistance out there,” Villar said.
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PHOENIX — Authorities have captured 17 suspected illegal immigrants in southern Arizona as they continued their manhunt Saturday for smugglers who they say shot and wounded a sheriff’s deputy in a remote desert area 50 miles south of Phoenix.
Three of those captured overnight Friday matched descriptions from the wounded Pinal County deputy and were being questioned Saturday, sheriff’s Lt. Tamatha Villar said. The deputy was released from the hospital, and was recovering at home.
