Letter to Tucson Convention Center

Tucson Convention Center
Attn: Richard Singer- Director
260 S. Church
Tucson , AZ 85701

April 20, 2004

Dear Mr. Singer,

This is a formal letter of complaint regarding the behavior of TCC employees. On Saturday April 17, 2004 our family picketed the SAHBA Home Show which was being held at the Tucson Convention Center. This protest was conducted lawfully and was well within our First Amendment Civil Rights. We were protesting SAHBA's Custom Home Builder Certification process and publicizing our personally devastating experience with a SAHBA certified builder. (View our website at www.mymccrearyhomesucks.com for more information)

As a part of the protest, our car was circling the TCC with magnetic signs attached to it. The driver and the vehicle were on public roads and all traffic laws were being obeyed. Near the entrance to the main West parking lot, a member of the TCC security squad aggressively and threateningly stopped the car, commanded it be turned around and exited, and some time later falsely alleged he had been hit by the vehicle.  We will leave it to the driver to relate that incident in greater detail.

Shortly after this incident the police were called by either a member of your staff or SAHBA. After speaking with your security personnel the officers spoke with us. The officers informed us that a complaint had been lodged that we were impeding traffic into the TCC. The officers told us they had been observing our protest and found it to be legal. We were not impeding traffic into the TCC in any way. The officers also reminded us of the rules for a legal protest and then informed us we were free to continue. Also imparted was the fact that the security guard was not allowed to stop our vehicle in the manner that he did. Such behavior is an affront to law abiding citizens. This country was founded on the right to speak out and you have obviously failed to educate your security personnel about the civil right to protest.

As the afternoon wore on, and our protest continued – we were obviously having an effect on both SAHBA and McCreary Homes. Denise McCreary, President of McCreary Homes, started snapping pictures of the picket line and shouting at us from her car. She screamed “We're going to get you for the money you stole from us!!” We are astounded that she would think that withholding money for a defective build is tantamount to stealing. In fact it seems to us to be a rather scurrilous accusation, tantamount to slander. Shortly after this outburst, Mrs. McCreary illegally backed her car up the full length of the down ramp of the TCC, creating an obvious traffic hazard.

Within 10 minutes of her theatrics, a group of SAHBA executives and TCC security personnel approached our group on the public sidewalk. They told our picketers that they must stop walking and accused us of backing our car into one of the security guards almost 1 & 1/2 hours prior to the accusation! The facts are that we were not driving the vehicle and it did not hit anyone.

Ed Taczanowsky , executive vice-president of SAHBA told us he was going to be arrested. Our response? - “Go Ahead. Arrest Us! Please! We insist.” Both TCC security and SAHBA officials tried detain the group on the public sidewalk. We declined to be held and continued our protest. The whole incident was emotionally traumatizing to the members of our group particularly the two members threatened with arrest. The police were called again.

Once more, the officers quickly determined that the charges were trumped up and bogus. First the security guard identified a 48 year old man as the culprit – then he identified our 18 year old son – then he said it was a 44 year old woman. The actual driver was a male – 74 years old – who did nothing wrong. The officers once again displayed exemplary professionalism and told us we were free to continue our picketing. The officer also mentioned that the guard never told him of any kind of “accident” or being hit by anyone having anything to do with us when they first interviewed him – just minutes after the “incident” and approximately 1 & 1/2 hours before it was reported. It is clear to us that your security guard could not even distinguish between male and female let alone the age of the person he accosted and who he claims “hit” him.

It seems “coincidental” to us that this trumped up charge occurred right after Mrs. McCreary went back into the TCC. Could it be that SAHBA officials and the TCC were trying to mollify an angry woman? It is a sad day in Arizona - indeed a sad day in America when a corporation is so afraid of public exposure that they will fabricate a story to try and stop a legal protest. What could possibly explain such abhorrent standards? This is the kind of behavior one would expect in Communist China or a third world dictatorship. Are these the ethics that SAHBA and the TCC stand for?

We understand why SAHBA was upset. It is always uncomfortable to have the public become aware of ones shortcomings. However, to fabricate criminal acts, file false police reports and try and incite the protesters by physically putting themselves in the middle of what was a very polite and peaceful protest seems unwise at best and criminal at worst. In fact we understand that it is a criminal offense to file a false police report.

The TCC security squad should be required to explain why they interfered with a lawful demonstration and why they tried to escalate a peaceful protest into a confrontation. Lizzette Galindo, Home Show Manager of SAHBA made disparaging remarks to our 18 year old son, and actually called him “pathetic” for his peaceful protest. What is truly pathetic is the response from both SAHBA and the TCC and the infringement of our civil rights by both organizations.

Is this the training your employee's receive? We are appalled by the intervention of our civil rights and will be discussing our legal options with the ACLU, who had already advised us of our rights to civil protest prior to our picketing. We expect an answer from you about what your security policy is regarding civil protest, what training you provide, and what corrective measures you are taking against those who interfered with our right to protest. Certainly the Tucson Convention Center recognizes that when our civil rights are allowed to be eroded by unlawful interference it weakens the Constitution for all of us.

Cc
Governor Janet Napolitano
Attorney General Terry Goddard
Mayor Robert Walkup
Tucson City Attorney Michael House
Councilman Jose Ibarra
Councilwoman Carol West
Councilwoman Kathleen Dunbar
Councilman Steve Leal
Councilwoman Shirley Scott
Councilman Fred Ronstadt
ACLU