Denver.- A man from southern Colorado faces charges of harassment, with the possibility of a fine and jail if found guilty, for having wrongfully demanded a Mexican migrant speak ingest English to play bingo, the police chief of the Mount Vista.As Chief John Rosecrans told The Denver Post, the charges against Tom Tancula, manager of the Elks Lodge club in Monte Vista, could mean a fine of up to $1,000 and a sentence of up to 90 days in prison for his Mary Yáñez, a three-decade-scented legal migrant in the United States.
A week ago, Yáñez went to buy bingo cards and, instead of talking, simply indicated with his fingers that he wanted two cards, presenting the corresponding money. At the time, Tancula demanded that he speak English and stated “I am in America. I don’t need to learn Spanish.” As Tancula’s attitude hardened, Yáñez called his daughter while two friends of the Mexican filmed the incident with their phones. The video eventually hit KKTV, in Colorado Springs, the main television station in southern Colorado. The dissemination of the material provoked expressions of repudiation against Tancula on social media and led to the intervention of local authorities. For its part, the Elks Lodge club issued a statement apologizing for what happened and revealing that Tancula no longer belongs to that organization and that he was fired from his work at bingo.
The offensive actions and words of this person (Tancula) are inexcusable, intolerable and totally unacceptable. Your conduct does not represent our organization, the club in Monte Vista, its members, or the beliefs of our members
Says the statement from Elks Lodge.For her part, Nadia Yáñez, Maria’s daughter, asked KKTA television in statements that “there are no aggressive retaliation” against Tancula, although she argued that “he has to be responsible” for his actions. Tancula must report to the municipal court on April 21 to answer the charges against him.
According to the Census Bureau, Monte Vista, 400 kilometres southwest of Denver, is a locality of about 4,500 people, with more than two-thirds (68%) Hispanics and less than a third (30% white). Less than 10% of these inhabitants are immigrants and 95% of the population is A Us citizen. In Monte Vista, 1,400 people speak predominantly Spanish.
Original source in Spanish
