A photojournalist for the "El Peso" newspaper says a municipal police officer in the city of Chihuahua threatened him with his firearm.
(CEPET/IFEX) – Alonso Alvidres López, a photojournalist for the “El Peso” newspaper, says he was threatened by municipal police officer José Chacón Gallegos on the morning of 3 September 2009, in the city of Chihuahua, in Chihuahua state, northern Mexico.
Alvidres López, who covers the nighttime police beat, said that, at about 12:30 a.m. (local time) on 3 September, he was informed that someone had been shot in the Díaz Ordaz neighbourhood. The photojournalist and personnel from several other media outlets gathered to report on the incident but were subsequently informed that the story about the shooting was a false alarm. While Alvidres López was talking to one of his colleagues, a police vehicle in which Chacón Gallegos was traveling passed by close to the media personnel. Alvidres López said that when Chacón Gallegos saw him he took out his firearm and pointed it at him, while also swearing at him.
“We have had problems several times in the past because he thinks I am not doing my job,” Alvidres López said. He subsequently filed a complaint against Chacón Gallegos with the Public Ministry. Alvidres López said, “I am afraid, he could do something to me or my family.”