Purpose

On October 11, 2021, City Manager Wanda Page announced Durham’s new Police Chief, Patrice V. Andrews. While searching for a new police chief must be challenging for a progressive city like Durham, we have several concerns about Chief Andrew’s direct involvement in the deportation of Samuel Oliver Bruno and the comments she made at the trial of the arrestees that protected him. At the time he was taken by ICE, Chief Andrews was the chief of police of Morrisville, the city in which Samuel was kidnapped and friends and church members were arrested (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/30/feds-deport-undocumented-immigrant-whose-church-supporters-went-jail-protect-him/

History

On December 10, 2017,  Samuel entered sanctuary at CityWell United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina. A few months earlier he went to his annual check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was given notification that he was to be deported. Rather than leave his son and sick wife in the United States, he moved into sanctuary, hoping and praying that he could find a way to remain with his family. 

On November 23, 2018, almost a year after living in sanctuary, Samuel left the church to go to a routine biometrics appointment at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Morrisville, NC. Waiting for him there were ICE officers in plain clothes who jumped on top of him, knocking him to the ground and sending his shoe flying across the floor. He was placed in an ICE van behind the building where friends, neighbors, and church members encircled the vehicle to prevent ICE from transporting Samuel to an imminent deportation. In April 2020 he was in an accident in Veracruz, Mexico when he was hit by a semi-truck. The accident caused severe brain damage which led to his death on July 4, 2021. Because of Chief Andrews' assistance in Samuel’s deportation, his wife was unable to be with him as he passed, had to watch his funeral on zoom, and was not given the privilege of one more kiss or hug goodbye.

28 people were arrested by the Morrisville Police Department the day Samuel was detained at the USCIS office. Present that day was Chief Andrews. Although community leaders pleaded with her not to assist ICE, she gave the orders for each one of the individuals who were protecting Samuel to be arrested. They were forced to sit on the curb with zip ties around their wrists and watch as their friend was driven away in an unmarked, tan van.

On March 10th, 2017, Chief Andrews shared her commitment to support the immigrant community and not to engage with ICE and yet she complied fully with ICE agents on November 23, 2018. Additionally, on March 6, 2020, Chief Andrews took the stand at the trial against many of those arrested for protecting Samuel. At the trial, she stated that because someone had said “F- the police,” she had the right to disperse the crowd for fear of violence. Case precedent shows that such phrases are not grounds for fear of violence and crowd disbursement.

Concern

We are concerned with your original selection to be Durham’s new police chief for two main reasons:

How will she protect our community’s vulnerable undocumented immigrants? The actions she took on November 23, 2018 speak louder than any words she may share. She had an opportunity to protect a kind and gentle man who was taking sanctuary in a church but chose to remove his protection and allow him to be deported. If Samuel was not safe, who is?
Will Durham’s first amendment rights to speak out against injustice be protected? Durham is known for its desire to create a more just, equitable community for all. Durham’s progress in social, economic, and environmental justice has been earned in part through protest, and we are proud of Durham’s history of impassioned expression. We are proud of Durham’s ethos of welcoming and defending migrants and refugees from every walk of life. The example we saw of Chief Andrews on November 23, 2018 and during the trial on March 6, 2020 show her commitment to order, arrests, and deportations over progress and free speech. 

Hope

Those of us who were there the day Samuel was taken have experienced trauma. Those of us who were CityWell clergy and congregants lost a brother in Christ and a friend, and those of us who joined in solidarity lost a beloved community member. 

Ultimately, we wish Chief Andrews had stood for goodness and justice and not cooperated with ICE’s unlawful, unethical kidnapping of Samuel Oliver Bruno from sanctuary. Samuel’s deportation should have never happened, and he should not have died wrongfully divided by a border from his family. We didn’t get to say goodbye. 

Considering the gravity of these circumstances and the concern we bare for our undocumented community in Durham, these are our unwavering expectations of anyone the manager chooses to hire as chief of police:

Refuse to execute federal warrants regarding nonviolent offenses committed by undocumented immigrants unlike Chief Andrews on November 23, 2018.
Protect first amendment rights of all by refraining from invoking disbursement orders when no violence or damage to property has occurred unlike Chief Andrews on November 23, 2018.
Protect undocumented neighbors who chose to enter sanctuary unlike Chief Andrews did on November 23, 2018.
Protect family members of undocumented immigrants rather than use them as a tactic to assist ICE in detaining individuals as Chief Andrews did when she had Samuel’s son arrested on November 23, 2018.
Agree to sign I-918b Certifications for undocumented victims of crime who wish to pursue a u-visa. 
Prioritize trauma-informed and racial equity trainings  to ensure that victims of crime are treated with respect and dignity, especially in our undocumented and immigrant communities.
Commit to refrain from unnecessary traffic stops that could lead to the detainment of undocumented neighbors.

    In addition to these expectations, we also ask for an immediate and genuine response regarding the actions committed by Chief Andrews on the day Samuel was taken as well as the day of the trial for those who were arrested. This includes but is not limited to:

An admission of wrongdoing as the Morrisville Police Chief for her involvement with ICE as well as an apology to the Oliver Bruno Family and Latinx community at large.
An admission of wrongdoing and apology to those present on November 23, 2018 as well as those who loved Samuel who have experienced trauma and grief because of her actions.
We also expect that, because of Durham’s progress in social, environmental, and economic issues assisted by peaceful protests protected by the First Amendment, she apologize and admit wrongdoing to the community of Durham for her comments on March 6, 2020.  Regarding her experience of protests in Durham, Chief Andrews said, “Post Ferguson in 2014 the Durham police department experienced a series of protests, some were peaceful but a majority were not.” She gives no other experience of Durham Protest during her 20 years as a Durham Police Officer. This is an insult to Durham organizers who have worked tirelessly for equity for all in Durham.

Signed

Kimberly Jinorio Swanson

David Jinorio Swanson

Maddie Reyes

Cleve May

Corey Summers

Manju Rajendran

Jose Romero

Tobi Lippin