Lynn mom: Loiter law is unfair

LYNN – The city ordinance passed April 29 that prohibits loitering within 1,000 feet of a school 24 hours a day is undergoing its first real test.While police and city officials who support the loitering ban say it’s a necessary tool to combat Lynn’s constant gang problem, the parent of one of the first teenagers arrested under the ordinance says the law is just another form of police harassment.Western Avenue resident Nora Alvarez says police used the ordinance to unfairly target her 15-year-old son, who asked that his name be withheld, when he was arrested on Nov. 17 outside Classical High School.”They label my son as a gang member, but I know for sure my son is not a gang member,” Alvarez said. “I’ve searched my house and looked for things.”Five total arrests have been made under the new ordinance. The first arrest was made May 20 but the other four arrests were made in two separate incidents the week of Nov. 20, according to Lynn police records.Alvarez says her son hangs out with a group of kids and one of them might be associated with a gang – a notion not surprising in a city where police say approximately 2,000 people are actively involved or closely associated with gangs.A police report obtained by the Item says the teens were arrested while standing in Hood Park, which police said is 35 to 40 feet across the street from the school, at about 2:30 p.m.The police report says school-stationed police officer Stephen Emery noticed the group as non-students and called two more officers to assist.The short-in-length police report provides no information about what the officers said to the three teens, nor if they were given a chance to vacate the premises before being taken into custody.The mother believes her son’s race and a police officer’s perception of his friends led to their arrests.”I’m Puerto Rican, I pay taxes, I’m a citizen,” Alvarez said. “I’ve been in this city 20 years. I’ve faced the racists so badly. I’m tired and I’m sick of it.”The wording of the loitering ordinance states a person is subject to a fine or arrest for lingering within 1,000 feet of a school zone – as opposed to a school building.”They supposedly arrested him because he was 1,000 feet from the school,” Alvarez said. “I talked to another boy who was there and he said it was like 3,000 or 4,000 feet.”As a result of the arrest, a district court bail clerk determined Alvarez’ son had to be held in a juvenile jail overnight because the incident violated the terms of his probation from earlier arrests.Alvarez says police have targeted her son before. She said she couldn’t understand why he and a small group of youths were arrested last year after being told to leave Lynn Common after dark. They had already left the park when asked by police but were arrested a few minutes later on Baker Street, she said. A police report on the incident was not available.”They never read him his rights,” she said. “I said, ‘If you’re going to arrest him, then you should arrest everybody.'”Police are constantly in contact with Alvarez’ son, she says, even if he is doing nothing wrong.”Every time they see him on the street, they stop and search him. Even in front of our house,” she said.Lynn police Officer Bob Ferrari, head of school security, said in an interview he was not familiar with Alvarez’ son but maintains school police officers don’t randomly target those arrested for loitering.”I’m sure he fell within the elements of the crime because that’s the only time the guys actually use it,” Ferrari said. “They use very good discretion.”Ferrari says the city council fought “long and hard” over the ordinance after teachers and parents raised concerns about gang members congregating near schools.”Dismissal is a chaotic time,” he said. “We need something like this to keep the kids safe.”Ward 3 City Councilor Darren Cyr was instrumental in getting the ordinance passed. He says Alvarez’ outcry is the first complaint on the ordinance he’s heard.”We have an extremely serious