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David Gonzales was appointed by
President George W. Bush to head the
U.S. Marhsalls Service in Arizona.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza | Barriozona
President George W. Bush to head the
U.S. Marhsalls Service in Arizona.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza | Barriozona
By Yolie Hernandez August 26, 2006
Phoenix, Arizona - BARRIOZONA: Can you give us a background
about yourself?
David Gonzales: I was born in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1954. I was one
of seven children; both sets of grandparents were there. When I
was eleven, my mother died of cancer. All of the kids were scattered
to the family, and I was lucky that I grew up in a town with a large
extended family. I was raised by my grandparents, which was a
blessing, because they believed in the old traditional values of hard
work. At the time, I was young and I thought -oh you viejitos
(seniors), you don’t know what you’re talking about. Then when you
get older, you realize how wise they were. I remember my
grandfather used to say: “Honest sweat has no odor,” I use to
laugh. Later I realized he was right. He always pushed education,
something that he didn’t have. I think he went (up) to the third
grade, but he would talk about the value of education. He would also
say an old Mexican proverb “If you grow up thinking you’re a
flowerpot, you’ll never get off the porch.” When you’re a child you
don’t understand, but one day it makes sense.
BZ: How did you get involved with law enforcement?
David: I was head of the “Gang Task Force,” a very interesting job,
one I took very seriously, because at the time, and probably it’s still
the same, 66% of the gangs in Arizona were (composed of) Latinos.
And that used to just frustrate me that my people got so involved in
gang culture and could not get out of it. (Many of the gang members
were) second and third generation gangs; (that) could not breakout
of that cycle, and it hasn’t gotten any better. I was doing my best to
protect the community, and also there were people who needed to
go to jail. There were other kids that didn’t belong in gangs, but had
no other choice; those are the ones we were trying to steer away
from gangs. It was very difficult for them, because they were in the
cycle (and) had the mindset of –“this is my life and it’s not going to
get any better, I was born to die and to do this.” I think as a people,
that is one of our biggest faults. (We need) to break through those
barriers.
I graduated from Flagstaff High School. I received an academic
scholarship to attend Northern Arizona University (NAU). It was a
partial scholarship, I didn’t have any other money; I had to work. I
was hired as a policeman. I was a Deputy Sheriff at 19 years old. I
was the youngest policeman in the country at 19 and a Latino. The
Sheriff, Joe Richards, he’s retired now, gave me my first break. He
was a guy who didn’t care if you were Black or Latino. I think he
thought that if you had some promise and were hard-working, he’d
give you a break.
Being a policeman at 19, they’ve changed the law since then, (now)
you have to be 21. I couldn’t buy bullets for my gun. I had somebody
buy them for me. I had to go to my sergeant: “Sergeant, can you buy
me some bullets?” He’d go and buy bullets for my gun. I was old
enough to be a policeman, but not old enough to buy bullets; it was
an ironic situation.
I was a Deputy Sheriff for two years and was going to school. When
I was growing up in Flagstaff, I use to see the Highway Patrols, and
they always had the big fancy cars and that Smokey the Bear hat. I
was so impressed by them, I thought they commanded respect and I
wanted to be a Highway Patrolman. I joined the DPS (Department of
Public Safety) and was sent to Tucson, where I worked as a Highway
Patrolman for two years. This was in the late 1970’s, during a time
when drug smuggling out of Mexico was just out of control. Arizona
was home to some of the traditional drug smuggling families who
lived in Tucson. There was a big push for narcotics and at that time, I
was 23 years old, but I looked like I was 16. People who looked
young were needed to work undercover, so they came to me and
asked if I would like to transfer to narcotics. I thought it would be
interesting, so I transferred. I worked as an officer, then sergeant in
an undercover squad where our job was to infiltrate drug smuggling
organizations. During that time, I met my wife. She had just
graduated from law school at the University of Arizona. She was
offered a job with a big law firm in Phoenix, so we moved. Then,
while I was with DPS, I began moving up the ranks. I was promoted
to Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, and eventually, Head of
Organized Crime Bureau Gang Units. I spent a year in Washington D.
C., with the FBI, doing gang training for them. DPS sent me to
Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government -
Executives in State and Local Government Program for management
school.
When President Bush was elected, I applied for the job of U.S.
Marshal. My appointment was recommended by Arizona Senators
John McCain and Jon Kyl.
U.S. Marshals Service is the oldest federal law enforcement in the
country. When this country was first formed, our founding Fathers
didn’t know how to really run a country; they were brilliant people
but were unfamiliar with certain areas. One of these areas was:
“How do we settle disputes among the states?” As you can imagine,
at that time, there were all kinds of disputes over taxes, crimes and
so on. Therefore, the first act of congress was to establish the court
system, so the federal judicial court was established and as part of
that act* came the creation of a police force which was the United
States Marshals Service. President Washington appointed the first
13 U.S. Marshals and that tradition is still carried out today, where
the President appoints the Head of the Marshals Service for the
Districts. (*The act congress passed was “The United States Judiciary
Act of 1789 (1 Stat. 73,)” a landmark statute adopted on September
24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress. It
established the U.S. federal judiciary. The Act created the office of
Attorney General, and also provided for the appointment of a
marshal, one or more deputy marshals, and a district attorney for
each judicial district).
As U.S. Marshals, we are probably the busiest federal agency in the
country, because we are responsible for arresting federal fugitives,
managing the Witness Protection Program, maintaining custody of
pretrial prisoners, etc. We have the broadest powers of any federal
agency in the United States.
BZ: Does Arizona, being a border state, present different challenges
for you?
David: Yes. What makes Arizona challenging for the Marshals Service
is our border with Mexico, and immigration issues. One of those
challenges is finding bed space for the prisoners. I am responsible
for all of the prisoners who are arrested, and I have to maintain
them in house (prison). In Arizona, our federal prisoners are housed
primarily at a private prison in Florence, Arizona-CCA. I have 3800
beds, but I have 5000 prisoners. I send the private company over 8
million dollars a month to house federal prisoners.
BZ: Are these all immigrant prisoners?
David: No, the majority of them are, but the rest are, as you can
imagine federal crimes: drug smugglers, bank robbers, white collar
criminals, every aspect of society is there. The majority are
immigration charges. I also have to contract with the County Sheriffs
to house prisoners for us. The system is bulging at the seams and
our whole judicial system is beginning to crack. We’re going at this
immigration debate saying “arrest all these people!” but we can’t
even handle it; the system cannot handle it. Then, there are a lot of
medical issues dealing with prisoners also that cost taxpayers
another 2 million dollars a month.
BZ: So these are some of the challenges you face?
David: Yes, and those only have to do with the prisoners. Now one
of the major functions of the Marshals Service is to arrest major
fugitives worldwide. I have Deputy Marshals everyday who are out
looking for fugitives who are hiding out, trying to avoid charges, and
that’s really important to us because if you’re a victim of crime, it’s
necessary that you have closure.
BZ: Why don’t we hear too much about U.S. Marshals in mainstream
media like we do of other law enforcement agencies?
David: You’re right, you don’t, we are a small agency, and our job is
to protect the courts, judges, and arrest federal fugitives, and
sometimes those types of things are not as sexy to the media.
BZ: What has been the most satisfying aspect of your job?
David: When I was a young policeman. I would say: “When I’m a
sergeant, I’m going to make changes.” When I was a sergeant, I
would say: “When I’m a lieutenant, I’m going to make things better
for the community and the organization.” And being in this position
as U.S. Marshal, you have the control and influence to make things
better within my district, our headquarters in Washington, and also,
in our community. Changes can range from little things to big things.
I would see Hispanics I worked with sometimes put the blinders on
to promotion, because they loved what they were doing, which was
important. But if you want to make change and have an influence,
you need to get promoted, so that you can effect that change.
BZ: How have people responded to a Latino U.S. Marshal?
David: I want to tell you a story. I was giving a speech at a big
convention, here locally, and there were about 400 people in
attendance. I was off to the side preparing to give my speech, and
this woman from the crowd comes up to me and says: “Sir, we need
another table set up over here.” (David laughing) I answered: “I don’
t work here.” She said: “Oh, okay.” Then, they introduced me, and
they did this big flowery introduction-you know how they do it- and
she sees me, and her eyes got this big (making large circles over his
eyes with his fingers.) It was interesting because she assumed,
since I was the only Hispanic in the room, I must be setting up the
tables. I know I’m up on a tangent here, but it was really, really
interesting that there were so many people there, yet she made a
beeline for me to set up the table, she just assumed I was part of
the staff.
I have another one. I was at a small town in Arizona, and I made a
courtesy visit to the Chief of Police. We were talking about the
Marshals Service and we got on the topic of badges. I was explaining
to him that the Head of the Office has a gold badge, and the Deputy
Marshals have a silver one. That’s how you know who was
appointed by the President and is the Head of the Office, so he looks
at me and asks “So, how come you have a gold badge?” He could
not understand how a Latino would have a gold badge, so I
answered, “Because I’m the U.S. Marshal.”
David Gonzales is Arizona’s third Latino U.S. Marshal. Prior to him, Alfred
Madrid held this position, and from 1969 to 1976 Pat A. Madrid held the
office. Please click on these links to learn more about the U.S. Marshals
Service and David Gonzales
about yourself?
David Gonzales: I was born in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1954. I was one
of seven children; both sets of grandparents were there. When I
was eleven, my mother died of cancer. All of the kids were scattered
to the family, and I was lucky that I grew up in a town with a large
extended family. I was raised by my grandparents, which was a
blessing, because they believed in the old traditional values of hard
work. At the time, I was young and I thought -oh you viejitos
(seniors), you don’t know what you’re talking about. Then when you
get older, you realize how wise they were. I remember my
grandfather used to say: “Honest sweat has no odor,” I use to
laugh. Later I realized he was right. He always pushed education,
something that he didn’t have. I think he went (up) to the third
grade, but he would talk about the value of education. He would also
say an old Mexican proverb “If you grow up thinking you’re a
flowerpot, you’ll never get off the porch.” When you’re a child you
don’t understand, but one day it makes sense.
BZ: How did you get involved with law enforcement?
David: I was head of the “Gang Task Force,” a very interesting job,
one I took very seriously, because at the time, and probably it’s still
the same, 66% of the gangs in Arizona were (composed of) Latinos.
And that used to just frustrate me that my people got so involved in
gang culture and could not get out of it. (Many of the gang members
were) second and third generation gangs; (that) could not breakout
of that cycle, and it hasn’t gotten any better. I was doing my best to
protect the community, and also there were people who needed to
go to jail. There were other kids that didn’t belong in gangs, but had
no other choice; those are the ones we were trying to steer away
from gangs. It was very difficult for them, because they were in the
cycle (and) had the mindset of –“this is my life and it’s not going to
get any better, I was born to die and to do this.” I think as a people,
that is one of our biggest faults. (We need) to break through those
barriers.
I graduated from Flagstaff High School. I received an academic
scholarship to attend Northern Arizona University (NAU). It was a
partial scholarship, I didn’t have any other money; I had to work. I
was hired as a policeman. I was a Deputy Sheriff at 19 years old. I
was the youngest policeman in the country at 19 and a Latino. The
Sheriff, Joe Richards, he’s retired now, gave me my first break. He
was a guy who didn’t care if you were Black or Latino. I think he
thought that if you had some promise and were hard-working, he’d
give you a break.
Being a policeman at 19, they’ve changed the law since then, (now)
you have to be 21. I couldn’t buy bullets for my gun. I had somebody
buy them for me. I had to go to my sergeant: “Sergeant, can you buy
me some bullets?” He’d go and buy bullets for my gun. I was old
enough to be a policeman, but not old enough to buy bullets; it was
an ironic situation.
I was a Deputy Sheriff for two years and was going to school. When
I was growing up in Flagstaff, I use to see the Highway Patrols, and
they always had the big fancy cars and that Smokey the Bear hat. I
was so impressed by them, I thought they commanded respect and I
wanted to be a Highway Patrolman. I joined the DPS (Department of
Public Safety) and was sent to Tucson, where I worked as a Highway
Patrolman for two years. This was in the late 1970’s, during a time
when drug smuggling out of Mexico was just out of control. Arizona
was home to some of the traditional drug smuggling families who
lived in Tucson. There was a big push for narcotics and at that time, I
was 23 years old, but I looked like I was 16. People who looked
young were needed to work undercover, so they came to me and
asked if I would like to transfer to narcotics. I thought it would be
interesting, so I transferred. I worked as an officer, then sergeant in
an undercover squad where our job was to infiltrate drug smuggling
organizations. During that time, I met my wife. She had just
graduated from law school at the University of Arizona. She was
offered a job with a big law firm in Phoenix, so we moved. Then,
while I was with DPS, I began moving up the ranks. I was promoted
to Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, and eventually, Head of
Organized Crime Bureau Gang Units. I spent a year in Washington D.
C., with the FBI, doing gang training for them. DPS sent me to
Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government -
Executives in State and Local Government Program for management
school.
When President Bush was elected, I applied for the job of U.S.
Marshal. My appointment was recommended by Arizona Senators
John McCain and Jon Kyl.
U.S. Marshals Service is the oldest federal law enforcement in the
country. When this country was first formed, our founding Fathers
didn’t know how to really run a country; they were brilliant people
but were unfamiliar with certain areas. One of these areas was:
“How do we settle disputes among the states?” As you can imagine,
at that time, there were all kinds of disputes over taxes, crimes and
so on. Therefore, the first act of congress was to establish the court
system, so the federal judicial court was established and as part of
that act* came the creation of a police force which was the United
States Marshals Service. President Washington appointed the first
13 U.S. Marshals and that tradition is still carried out today, where
the President appoints the Head of the Marshals Service for the
Districts. (*The act congress passed was “The United States Judiciary
Act of 1789 (1 Stat. 73,)” a landmark statute adopted on September
24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress. It
established the U.S. federal judiciary. The Act created the office of
Attorney General, and also provided for the appointment of a
marshal, one or more deputy marshals, and a district attorney for
each judicial district).
As U.S. Marshals, we are probably the busiest federal agency in the
country, because we are responsible for arresting federal fugitives,
managing the Witness Protection Program, maintaining custody of
pretrial prisoners, etc. We have the broadest powers of any federal
agency in the United States.
BZ: Does Arizona, being a border state, present different challenges
for you?
David: Yes. What makes Arizona challenging for the Marshals Service
is our border with Mexico, and immigration issues. One of those
challenges is finding bed space for the prisoners. I am responsible
for all of the prisoners who are arrested, and I have to maintain
them in house (prison). In Arizona, our federal prisoners are housed
primarily at a private prison in Florence, Arizona-CCA. I have 3800
beds, but I have 5000 prisoners. I send the private company over 8
million dollars a month to house federal prisoners.
BZ: Are these all immigrant prisoners?
David: No, the majority of them are, but the rest are, as you can
imagine federal crimes: drug smugglers, bank robbers, white collar
criminals, every aspect of society is there. The majority are
immigration charges. I also have to contract with the County Sheriffs
to house prisoners for us. The system is bulging at the seams and
our whole judicial system is beginning to crack. We’re going at this
immigration debate saying “arrest all these people!” but we can’t
even handle it; the system cannot handle it. Then, there are a lot of
medical issues dealing with prisoners also that cost taxpayers
another 2 million dollars a month.
BZ: So these are some of the challenges you face?
David: Yes, and those only have to do with the prisoners. Now one
of the major functions of the Marshals Service is to arrest major
fugitives worldwide. I have Deputy Marshals everyday who are out
looking for fugitives who are hiding out, trying to avoid charges, and
that’s really important to us because if you’re a victim of crime, it’s
necessary that you have closure.
BZ: Why don’t we hear too much about U.S. Marshals in mainstream
media like we do of other law enforcement agencies?
David: You’re right, you don’t, we are a small agency, and our job is
to protect the courts, judges, and arrest federal fugitives, and
sometimes those types of things are not as sexy to the media.
BZ: What has been the most satisfying aspect of your job?
David: When I was a young policeman. I would say: “When I’m a
sergeant, I’m going to make changes.” When I was a sergeant, I
would say: “When I’m a lieutenant, I’m going to make things better
for the community and the organization.” And being in this position
as U.S. Marshal, you have the control and influence to make things
better within my district, our headquarters in Washington, and also,
in our community. Changes can range from little things to big things.
I would see Hispanics I worked with sometimes put the blinders on
to promotion, because they loved what they were doing, which was
important. But if you want to make change and have an influence,
you need to get promoted, so that you can effect that change.
BZ: How have people responded to a Latino U.S. Marshal?
David: I want to tell you a story. I was giving a speech at a big
convention, here locally, and there were about 400 people in
attendance. I was off to the side preparing to give my speech, and
this woman from the crowd comes up to me and says: “Sir, we need
another table set up over here.” (David laughing) I answered: “I don’
t work here.” She said: “Oh, okay.” Then, they introduced me, and
they did this big flowery introduction-you know how they do it- and
she sees me, and her eyes got this big (making large circles over his
eyes with his fingers.) It was interesting because she assumed,
since I was the only Hispanic in the room, I must be setting up the
tables. I know I’m up on a tangent here, but it was really, really
interesting that there were so many people there, yet she made a
beeline for me to set up the table, she just assumed I was part of
the staff.
I have another one. I was at a small town in Arizona, and I made a
courtesy visit to the Chief of Police. We were talking about the
Marshals Service and we got on the topic of badges. I was explaining
to him that the Head of the Office has a gold badge, and the Deputy
Marshals have a silver one. That’s how you know who was
appointed by the President and is the Head of the Office, so he looks
at me and asks “So, how come you have a gold badge?” He could
not understand how a Latino would have a gold badge, so I
answered, “Because I’m the U.S. Marshal.”
David Gonzales is Arizona’s third Latino U.S. Marshal. Prior to him, Alfred
Madrid held this position, and from 1969 to 1976 Pat A. Madrid held the
office. Please click on these links to learn more about the U.S. Marshals
Service and David Gonzales
'Getting off the Porch', Interview with David Gonzales, Arizona U.S. Marshall
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Yolie Hernandez is the Production Director of the Hispanic
Institute of Social Issues. She graduated from the Stanford
University Publishing Program, and is a Barriozona contributor.
Contact
Institute of Social Issues. She graduated from the Stanford
University Publishing Program, and is a Barriozona contributor.
Contact
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