Politricking and Contradictions of Pomona Checkpoint Discourse: Councilman arrested on suspicion of DUI

"POMONA - Councilman and mayoral candidate Elliott Rothman was arrested late Tuesday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a statement from the City Manager's Office released Wednesday."

These were the headlines in last week's Daily Bulletin article by staff writer Monica Rodriguez.

"Last month, Rothman voted in favor of accepting a state grant to help pay for traffic checkpoints in the city, a highly controversial issue this summer. Rothman spoke against drunken drivers at the meeting and said his father-in-law had been killed by a drunken driver."


The reality of police checkpoints in Pomona, like in many other cities throughout the U.S., is that they serve as a tool for economic exploitation and criminalization of legally vulnerable populations, predominantly "undocumented" immigrants.

Working class people of color are racially profiled and slapped with thousands of dollars in citations when caught in a police checkpoint.

These economic attacks benefit local tow truck companies and city agencies while taking food off the tables of unlicensed drivers' families.

The case of Elliot Rothman's DUI arrest not only unveils his hypocrisy as an advocate for MADD but demonstrates the contradictions that plague Pomona politics.

It would be of no surprise if Rothman is let off the hook this time around, given that elections are just around the corner.

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