From a series of incidents that occurred on August 22, 2022, we focus once again on the one regarding Jovan García, who was a victim of abuse of power by Tijuana’s municipal authorities.

According to what’s been revealed, Jovan had left LA and come all the way to Tijuana on August 22, 2022. When he crossed the boder, he was interrogated by SAT personnel who asked him about the amount of money he had with him. Jovan stated that he had $9,000 dollars which he would use to pay for a property on 4 Sección.

Rarely does SAT staff not question the amount of money a person has. Without counting the money, SAT doesn’t tell Jovan that the maximum amount allowed that doesn’t have to be declared is $10,000 dollars and let him continue.

Moments later, as he is heading to El Florido, just at the level of Central de Abastos in Vía Rápida, he is stopped by a Tijuana municipal police patrol car. The officers, according to the victim, never showed or stated a reason why they stopped the car. They just quickly asked him if he had any money.

Jovan decides to record the police officers’ actions without them noticing at first. When the officer realizes he was being recorded, he tries to take away the phone and, in the middle of a struggle, he hits Jovan and makes his mouth bleed.

The victim states that, when this whole thing began, he was afraid that this was like a similar event that took place weeks before, when violence by criminal groups paralyzed the city. As such, he began to run leaving behind his car and his money which was stolen by the officers.

Jovan arrives at a gas station nearby and asks for help. The same police officers who had hit him before arrive to answer the call by the gas station’s owner. Minutes later, three more police patrol cars arrive, among them, the area’s police chief.

The authorities, rather than trying to help the victim, just limited themselves to saying that they would tow the car abandoned in the middle of the freeway. When Jovan started to explain the situation, the police chief told him that the people who had punched him had been other agents from a white car, and not municipal officers.

The whole situation ended like this: no favorable results for the victim. Jovan has filed a complaint against the officers. Next November 3, he will attend an identification hearing where he needs to point to the officers who hit him.

A fact about this story is worthy of being mentioned. The police chief stated that the person who hit him and stole the money was driving a white car. How did he know this?

Another interesting thing to note is that when Jovan crosses the border into Tijuana, SAT staff doesn’t check the amount of money to corroborate that the amount is correct. This attitude doesn’t really match the notoriously stalkerish way in which SAT operates. What is the relation between the uninterested SAT attitude and the police officers’ harassment? If we believe the victim’s statement, based on past and similar experiences, it is safe to assume that the officers knew that the victim was carrying money.

Meanwhile, and as it happens with several similar situations, there is no certainty about this being resolved any time soon. One would need to wait until November 3 or until another abuse of power case by authorities happens again.

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