AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2017 45 O n e o f t h e reasons that Border Wall 2.0 is more popular with folks that don’t live near the line than with those that do is simple. Property owners where the wall might go could lose their land under eminent domain and other tactics available to the fed- eral government. DHS is currently working hard to condemn people’s property where the wall will allegedly be constructed. Accordingtorecentreports from the Houston Chronicle, taxpayers and land owners in Los Ebanos, near McAl- len, and Roma, say they’ve been getting notices that the federal government is reviv- Sorry w Sorry we’re taking your house, e’re taking your house, but it’s to keep you people safe but it’s to keep you people safe ing long-dormant lawsuits to condemn acreage they own near the Rio Grande. The land-grab is impacting people like Noe Benavides. He’s a former local law- maker and Roma city coun- cilman. He just got a nice note that the federal government is taking 5.7 acres of real estate his family owns near the riverbank. This is the second time the feds have tried to grab the land. His property was initially condemned in 2008 when then-President George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act. Thankfully a basic clerical error kept the government from being able to seize his property. “It’s a strip 60 feet wide by the lands on the river that we have there,” Noe Bena- vides said. “And you know, I wouldn’t mind if they went parallel to the river, but they’re not. They’re follow- ing a road that I have there, and there’s probably about 20 acres plus left behind the fence.” Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Of- fice, which has filed lawsuits to condemn property for the fence, obviously did not respond to requests for com- ments. The good news for prop- erty owners that could lose their land is that President Trump’s border wall plans are at a standstill at the time this was written and Con- gress has not authorized any funds to pay for the second wall, or fence. Sergeant makes history The Godfather of soul James Brown once sang, “It’s man’s world, but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman.” And in Upland, California, Officer Marci Williams is about to become the agency’s first ever female sergeant. “I want to be able to rep- resent women and represent them well,” Williams told CBS2 reporters in a recent interview. Williams came on the job in 2006. Her husband’s also a cop.The two have a 7-month-old daughter. “We come home, we pray every night together, thank God that we are safe,” Williams said. Upland is a mid-size agency with about 74 sworn. Just four of them are women, including Williams. Chief Brian Johnson is hoping those numbers will improve going forward. “I think for little girls at school, women out in the work force within our city, I think it’s important for them to see women in the uniform.” www.UnitedByLight.org National PoliceWeek 2017 Your purchases help support the work of the Memorial Fund. May13,2017 Candlelight Vigil Every year, thousands of people are United By Light during the annual Candlelight Vigil, in Washington, DC. Together, we can spread the light into communities throughout the country, in honor of our law enforcement heroes. Join today at: UNITED BY LIGHT www.ShopLawMemorial.org | 1-866-569-4928 2017 National Police Week T-Shirts 2017 National Police Week Badge 2017 Candlelight Vigil T-Shirt 2017 National Police Week Hat 2017 Memorial Challenge Coin