Updated Sep 24, 2012 - 6:13 pm
Woman blames SB 1070 for mother's traffic arrest
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PHOENIX -- Erika Andiola's mother was pulled over by Mesa Police Saturday night for speeding but Andiola believes there was another reason, a reason police said is irrelevant.
"According to the police she was going 50 miles per hour when it was supposed to be 40," Andiola told 92.3 KTAR's Jay Lawrence.
"I actually went to speak to one of the cops and he didn't even want to answer whether he stopped them or not because of the color of their skin but I honestly felt that was the reason why that happened."
Andiola added that her mother and two siblings who were also in the car were adamant that they weren't speeding. The family is Hispanic.
Mesa Police Detective Steve Berry said neither race nor SB 1070 played any factor in pulling over Andiola's mother.
"SB 1070 is political issue," Berry said. "We're not involved in politics. We're involved in law enforcement. If you took SB 1070 completely out of the equation the exact same thing would happened. It doesn't matter who you are. The same rules apply."
Andiola captured video of the traffic stop on her cellphone.
Andiola's mother, who is in the country illegally but is in the process of becoming a citizen, according to her daughter, was cited for not having any identification while driving and then released.
Early last week, Phoenix police made the department's first arrest under the "show your papers" provision.
Aaron Granillo, News Editor
