You might have seen New Haven’s neighboring town, East Haven, in the news this week. Four East Haven police officers were arrested on federal charges of conspiracy, false arrest, excessive force and obstruction of justice for allegedly harassing and brutalizing Latino immigrants in town.
East Haven’s mayor said he stood behind his police department; asked by a TV reporter what he intended to do for the Latino community, he responded: “I might have tacos” for dinner.
You might not know, however, that Yale law students are deeply involved in the East Haven case. In 2009, students at the Law School’s Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department, prompting the grand jury investigation that led to the arrests. Law students continue to represent witnesses and complainants before the grand jury, and have filed a separate civil lawsuit against the town.
Thursday morning, law student Dermot Lynch ’12 appeared on CNN (above) alongside a Catholic priest who has driven much of the protest against EHPD treatment of his Latino parishioners. That afternoon, Yale College senior Mirtala Sanchez of the Chicano student organization MEChA de Yale joined community activists in delivering 500 tacos to the mayor’s office.

Just in time for Yale’s semester-long 
