TJ Cops are the scumbags and getting worse

[Ashton L]

I've been shaken down by cops in Tijuana and Mexico City. I had to pay $20-$40 to the cops or else they would take me to jail (at least that's what they said). I will gladly pay $20-$40 to stay out of their jails. Anytime you go to a foreign country, it can be dangerous. I've heard of people being "taken for a ride" in the back of a cop car and then had the crap beat out of them. No thanks officer, here's $20.

 

[Drift Wood]

I'm glad to see a couple of other guys report encounters with the police in which they didn't get beaten, thrown in jail, etc. Also, I'm glad to hear somebody say that he was serached, nothing was stolen, and them was sent on his way. (That's pretty common, in spite of what some may think.)

Search laws in Mexico give the cops more rights than in the US. It isn't uncommon to get seached for drugs near the border. Here is why.

It is illegal to buy many medications in Mexico without an Rx from a Mexican physcian. I posted about this elsewhere. In the US a pharmacy needs an Rx to sell meds. In Mexico you need an Rx to buy (category IV) medications. (You need to have the Rx in your possession while carrying category IV meds in public.)

There are a set of rules that many corrupt cops use in playing their game. It begins with selective enforcment. (Locals are allowed to do things gringos aren't. BTW, that's the bitch minorities in the US make about the way the cops treat them compared to WASPs.) The cops love to catch a gringo breaking a law-- however minor it may be. Then they can't be accused of corruption. With the law on their side they can take you to jail--if you don't pay a bribe--without running amock with supervisors.

Tinted car windows are illegal. Driving using a cell phone is illegal. Not wearing a seat beat is illegal. Buy meds without an Rx is illegal. Etc. You're in minor trouble if a cops catches you breaking a law--however minor it is. Nothing, of course, that $20 won't normally fix. (Unless you break a major law--like carrying drugs or weapons--in which case your're in real trouble.)

More times than not the cops will let you go--after searching you--if they can't find a violation of the law (however minor it may be). Just as your post indicates.

 

[_Hill_]

I have gone to TJ countless times and have had run-ins with the police but none too bad. I really can't imagine why anyone would bring their car down there. The main thing about TJ is use your common sense and you should be o.k. Here is a list of things I have done in Mexico that caught the attention of the police:

1) Going into an alley to take a piss. They look for this all the time and it will cost you $20 - $40 if caught. Also, they seem to take it as a personal insult that a Gringo is pissing on their country. Mexicans have a lot of national pride and be careful.

2) Walking around holding a beer - a big no-no and it will cost you $20 - $50 to get off.

3) littering - even a cigarette butt can get you in trouble.

4) being anywhere near a bar brawl or a fight. They usually arrest everyone in sight.

5) Don't ever be loud or belligerent in public.

Here's what I've learned about police encounters there. Be VERY humble and apologetic, be profuse in your apologies. Don't ask aoorgantly, "how much will this cost me?" At some point, they will bring up "going to jail and paying the judge." At that point, ask them to pay for you.

There are little to no rights in Mexico if they want to screw you. I guess they are trying to improve police corruption but the cops down there are awful. Use common sense and you should be fine.

 

[AdminAVZ]

That's a bad situation BigM24. Those cops were undoubtedly looking to shake you down for cash.

MikeDude, you put it exactly right.

It appears that the interim solution is to go in groups or in pairs (at a minimum) in order to keep the cops away from you. Having a witness to the mugging by the corrupt TJ cops might deter the cops from assaulting us. Has anyone seen any posts where someone with another person has been harassed by the TJ cops?

 

[darkness234]

Last night I was hurrying back to the border to catch a trolley when a cop told me to stop. He was wearing a belt with the usual equiment, but was wearing a sweater with "policia" written on it instead of a uniform. Thats why I believed I was beeing robbed by a fake cop at the very beginning. However another cop in a uniform arrived, and together they searched me for drugs and weapons. While doing that, the brought me to another place and I could see a police car with a third cop watching. I asked for an police id but one cop only pointed at his police badge. I had nothing illegal with me, so they let me go after a while.

I looked through everything I had, and they did not take anything. I only noticed that my debit card has been put on another place in my purse (I am not 100% sure about this, but maybe 80%), so I had it blocked immediatly. All this happened near the border, after I went down the stairs of the bridge over the street you use to drive in and out of Mexico.

I am wondering if this was an attempted robbery happening right in front of the border station or if real mexican cops are like that (wearing a sweater instead of an uniform, do not show a picture id) and I behaved suspiciously when I was hurrying to the border.

 

[cristal c]

This is ridiculous! It is pretty convenient that I have no way to read the article on the resignations. My instincts tell me though the investigation had to do with some pretty serious stuff and not reports by harassed tourists. Right??

No, I'm not aware of a census that has TJ more populated than San Diego city. The last census in San Diego (and the rest of the USA) was in 2000 and had the city's population at 1,223,400 and the county at 2,813,833, according to the US Census. The municipality of Tijuana was somewhere between 1,125,200 to 1,210,820 in 2000, depending on who provides the stats. That puts the two cities roughly even, although it looks like San Diego has an edge over TJ in number.

Yes, there are accusations of problems in various US police depts. Each of these cities deals with the complaints openly and the cops are disciplined if deserving of it. The politics of what is going on in LA or elsewhere is irrelevant to what we've discussed about TJ, but it would not surprise me if LAPD has asked for federal help to disprove the allegations against some LAPD cops. As for San Diego shootings, who knows the latest number and who cares? By the end of May, they had 11. So what? Who knows what TJ cops have done? Statistics aren't readily available. I'd bet you have a number or two that cannot be verified.

I've walked through many cities outside of the US, some areas much poorer than the tourist areas of TJ. I've felt safer in all of them compared to TJ. But TJ is the only city I've had to worry about cops mugging me.

 

[Just Curious]

I posted this elsewhere. But I'll also post it in this thread.

I urge anybody who has had problems with a corrupt cop to report it. It can even be done over the Internet. Contrary to what some may think, TJ does (sometimes) fire corrrupt cops. (As the article I reference above shows. Those who follow the news in TJ will be able to attest this isn't an isolated incident either.) As is true in the US, what happens depends on a number of factors, one of which is how accurate a report of wrong doing the cops receive.

Here's some useful information for reporting corrupt cops.

Phone Numbers & Web Sites

Police Extortion Complaints:
http://www.sindicatura.gob.mx

The Baja California Secretary of Tourism also publishes a safety guide at
www.discover bajacalifornia.com.

For U.S. State Department advisories, go to
http://travel .state.gov/mexico

Tijuana Phone Numbers
Emergencies: 066
Tourist Assistance Hotline: 078 in Tijanua
U.S. Consulate: 622-7400
Baja California State District Attorney's Office: 638-5206, 638-9184
Baja California State Visitor Assistance Office: 973-0424
Tijuana Office of Internal Affairs, Complaint Department: 688-2810
To call the these from the US, dial 011-52-664 and the seven-digit Tijuana number.

 

[Rio]

Nevermore...once again your ignorance about how things work in TJ is showing.

The Septeber 15, 2005, El Mexicano contains an article about 4 cops who "resigned" during a corruption investigation.

Does corruption exist within the TJ police force. Yes! Does anything happen to corrupt cops when the get caught? Many times the answer is yes.

Neveromore...I wonder if you think that that bad cops only live in Mexico and that US police forces are perfect? Are you aware that LA entered into a consent degree with the federal government because the LAPD was caught beating people, planting evidence on suspects, comitting perjury, etc. (Remember Rampart and Rodney King? Sadly federal investigations proved this is standard operating procedure in LA.) Bad cops don't only live in TJ. If you want to see corruption at work then take a good look at NYC. Next time you look for police violance take a good look at the LAPD; also, you might want to compare the number of people the police kill in the line of duty in San Diego versus Tijuana. I assume you know that more people live in TJ that San Diego, but that the San Diego police shoot more people each year than the cops in TJ. Take at good look at what happens in Philly, LA, NYC, etc. (In NO the cops took "off their badges" and joined the looters.) TJ has a lot of problems with its cops, as I know well from personal experience. Sometime talk to some minorities about what they experience in the US with the cops; at times it reminds me of what we gringos experience in TJ. Problems with cops exits on both sides of the border. Sadly, police forces in the US and Mexico are too slow in admitting they have bad cops and do too little to get rid of them. I'm not saying TJ doesn't need to make major imporvements--it does. What I'm saying is problems with bad cops isn't limited to TJ.

 

[H B]

Let's face the facts guys. Standing up to a bunch of corrupt cops will only put you in a precarious position. These TJ cops in my opinion are nothing short of criminals in police uniforms. Odds are all stacked up against us. You are a foreigner in a foreign country for somethng(basically prostitutes) that most of us are not proud of. Plus they know that we carry cash. To them, we are like goldmine. Heck, maybe some TJ cops are taking it personal that guys from the states are coming down to screw their women. If you get on the wrong side of these guys while trying to stand up, you might endanger your life much less end up in a jail. Remember, they can basically do whatever they want to do.
Yes we should do something about those corrupt cops but NOT on the street with bunch of (criminal) guys with guns. I strongly believe that their superior officers are taking cuts from those patrol cops. So it's no use reporting to TJ police station. It has to be done at other levels I believe, like writing letters or reporting through U.S. agencies.
Standing up to corrupt TJ cops sounds good and brave, but I would rather come home alive by paying 40 dollars and consider I just stepped on shit than putting myself in potentially life threatening situation. Don't get me wrong. I am not a chicken. Read my second example in my first post.
Nothing is going to change down there. I might have to stop going to TJ alltogether. Sometimes, you have to be wise than brave.

 

[Trust and Believe]

All of the preceding is from the guy who thinks TJ is safer than most metro cities in the USA. I don't know of a city in the USA where it isn't safe to drive a nice car.

MikeDude was lucky he convinced the cop that he was just trying to leave after seeing the cop's ID. As it turns out, you didn't lie to him since you didn't report it. But then the burning question that Burt2020 has not yet answered: What happens to these corrupt cops after you report it? My bet is absolutely nothing. The cops in your 2nd example probably got a little talking to by the supervisor who probably told them they should be more careful next time. I doubt a report was even filed. Next time, the cops will probably take you to jail.

 

[GunnerRose]

There are actually laws against tinted windows in Mexico. However, you ran into a case of selective enforcment. Elsewhere I posted how to report a corrupt cop. I urge you to do that; it can be done by phone and online. (As long as guys don't stand up to cops and, worse, don't report corruption these problems will continue.)

Within the boarder zone (which includes all of Tijuana) cops are not allowed to take you license plates or make you follow them to the police station. They are required to give you a ticket which you are allowed by pay by mail. That is Mexican law.

I went through something similar once. (I've spend a lot of time in TJ, and I've had my pleanty of experiences with the cops.) Don't be an asshole or wise guy as that will only cause problems. Instead be polite but firm.

I tell them the law say that they are to give me a ticket and that I don't have to go to the police station. They then bluster and try to convience me I'm wrong. (I always tell them that is what the Office of Tourism says on the Internet and what my attorney--Julio Bustament--has told me.) I repectfully stand my ground and refuse to go to the station. They've gotten violent. They've never put me in cuffs and taken me to jail. They just keep on trying to scam me. Eventually when the realize I'm serious they write me a ticket or more frequently just let me go with some sort of warning.

Now for some advice on staying out of trouble:

Driving an expensive car is asking for trouble. Driving anywhere near the ZN is asking for trouble. Sorry about that, but those are the facts of life in TJ. (As I'm sure you know.)

It cost $5.00 each way (less in a taxi libre) to go to and from the border to the ZN. There is prudence in not driving in TJ--especially at night.

If you must drive to the ZN, then I suggest parking at the Leva hotel. That is about the shortest and quickest place to the Via Rapida. It minimizes the time and distance for the cops to spot you.

Something else to consider is parking somewhere outide the Zona. There are a couple of lots on 9th street that I like to use. (Yea, it's a bit of walk to the ZN.) If you head down 10th street you have a straight shot to the Zona Rio. I like to cross over the bridge and take the Via Rapida (that passes by the Pueblo Amigo Hotel) to the border instead of using Paseo de los Hereos. I don't see many cops on that route and so far I haven't been stopped.

Please, report this indicent. Next time I urge you to stand up to the cops. I've followed my own advice, and I haven't ended up in jail! (What is what Nevermore thinks is bound to happen if you stand up to the cops. I realize they are good at scaring people, but it is all a bluff.)

 

[unnga]

MikeDude, You stated that the cop was about to take you into custody because you saw his ID, but you managed to talk your way out of it. If you weren't able to talk your way out of the parking space, what do you think would have happened? It sounds like the cop would have made up any charge and hauled you to jail.

 

[just-another]

If you believe Burt2020, all you ever have to do is stand up to them. http://www.worldsexguide.com/forum/showpost.php?p=92766&postcount=13
If it is your word against two of theirs, what chance do you have?

 

[zeureeka]

Corruption has been in the Mexican Government so long, it trickles down through from the Politicians to the Police Force. What you did was great, stand up for yourself and go to the Police Station. But, there have been others that have been beaten by cops and dumped on the streets, so be careful when confronting the police. The reason they shake down Americans is because they can. But they also make about $10 a day, so they are shaking you down because they are paid low wages (no excuse, but it is one reason they do it).

 

[Gabbie]

Last night at around 10 PM, I got stopped by a TJ police car just before hitting the main intersection where Chicago and Adelita bar are located. As I have driven my car into TJ so many times in the past, I was very careful to avoid any police car when I was getting close to the parking lot nex to CC. But it is probably very difficult not to draw the cop's attention when you drive a black BMW with CA license plate and non-Mexican in the driver's seat. I have no idea how these guys got behind me. Anyway, the cop says the tinted windows are illegal in Mexico and I need to go to the police station and pay the fine. I asked how much the fine and he says it's about 200 US dollars. At this point, I know this guy is another TJ scumbag police but to get the monkey off my back I asked if I can pay here instead of going to the station. I ended up paying 100 dollars. Afterwards, I sat in my car waiting for him to pass me so that I can see the ID number on his car. But this guy wouldn't move so I got out of my car and gestured toward him to move back a little so I can back up my car and then leave. While doing this, I looked at the ID on his car and the guy noticed my intention. Now he gets out of his car and says that I looked at his ID and now I have to go to the police station. I told him I am just trying to leave so please back up your car because I don't have much room between my car and the parked car in front. Now he lets me go.
Since I've had a similar experience in the past, I was going to report this to the police station since I got the fxxker's ID, P3018.
But it was getting late and I was tired. Plus, I knew it wasn't going to do much since probably all the cops in TJ are all doing this and they will try to cover each other's ass.

Several months ago, I was stopped by police while walking in Zona Norte. I was quickly taken into the backseat without much explanation from the cop. I wasn't drunk, didn't possess any drugs and was not in the middle of dealing with hooker. So basically they didn't have any excuse to put me into the police car. I kept asking "where are you taking me?", "what did I do wrong?" The guys finally say "We are looking for a criminal and they have to take me to the police station to do the background check on me." After driving around for 10 minutes, the cops dropped me off at some dark remote area and said they would arrest me if they ever saw me walking in TJ again. What the Fuxk ?? Arrest me for what ? They dropped me off because they knew I was standing my ground and wound't budge. I knew I had to do something for my fellow mongers.
I was willing to take one for the team. I walked all the way from this remote area to the central police station located in Zona Note. This is the one right in front of "The Alley." I reported the incident and the cop's ID on his police car. To my surprise, they tell me that the supervisor is on his way here and that they also summoned the cop that harrassed me. After waiting for about 20 minutes in the police station I was getting ready to leave thinking they are all the same and would never do what they told me they would do. But as I was getting ready to leave, the supervisor comes in with the crooked cops that gave me bad time. When he saw me, I could see a panic spreading from his face. What a sweet feeling. That made all this trouble and time wasted worthwhile.
After a lengthy explanation from me to the supervisor, he asks me what I wanted to do. I just told him that innocent U.S. citizens should not be harrassed if they don't break any local laws. Finally, the crook cop says I am sorry and I left the scene. This whole ordeal took 2 hours but at the end it made me feel good because I knew I did the right thing for me and probably for all the guys fromt the states.

I know this type of behavior from TJ cops won't stop any time soon unless guys stop going to TJ. I mean, even last night when I was driving out of the Zona Norte to get back, I saw several stopped cars with TJ cops behind them. Interestingly, they all had CA license plate. These guys are behaving like a kid in a candy store thinking guys from across the border are easy preys. Fxxk, there must be something we can do to fight back. Anybody have any ideas ?