(Photo: Stripped of their guns, some Tijuana Municipal Police officers are carrying baseball bats, golf clubs and rocks to fight crime. Tijuana Municipal Police ).
Tijuana Municipal Police officials say federal authorities have finished examining local agents’ guns. But Municipal officials say there’s still no word on when they’ll get their weapons back. In the meantime, Tijuana’s local police are still defending the city, with some “alternative” methods. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has details.
Tijuana Municipal Police say officers’ holsters may be empty. But officials say police are still in the streets using sticks, golf clubs and baseball bats. A municipal police spokesman says officers threw rocks to stop the driver of a car that was reported stolen in San Diego.
The spokesman says in another incident, officers used baseball bats to rescue a 15-year-old who was being sexually abused. Federal authorities stripped the municipal force of its guns two weeks ago.
Federal authorities took the weapons to run ballistics tests on them. They wanted to see if the weapons are tied to any drug cartel crimes.
The city’s top police official, Javier Algorri, says federal authorities have not told him the results of the tests. He’s asked the General in charge to please give the weapons back. Meanwhile, state officials say crime in Tijuana has dropped 14-percent since federal forces arrived at the beginning of the month.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
