Alan James Alda, 25, a Jersey City warehouse worker originally from Manila, was startled when police suddenly “arrested and threw him into a detention cell” at approximately 3 a.m. on Feb. 18 after he asked for the names of the two officers who rudely dismissed his complaint against a taxi driver for overcharging, according to Anakbayan, a Filipino youth group based here, of which Alda is also a member.

The cops were later identified by Anakbayan as Sgt. Dennis Halleran and Officer A. Nunez of the Jersey City Police Department.

Alda and two of his young Filipino friends went to the police precinct near Manila Avenue to report a taxi driver they claimed was overcharging and demanding upfront payment. “Instead we were rudely told to start walking home,” said Arcy Yuson, Alda’s companion at the time.

After dismissing their complaint, Alda asked the two officers of their names. It was then that the tide shifted, according to Anakbayan, when Alda was physically grabbed by the cops and arrested.

“We were shocked,” Yuson said.

The two officers allegedly threatened Alda’s companions with arrest but eventually left them standing outside the police precinct as they took Alda in, Anakbayan said.

“We didn’t know what was going on,” Yuson recalled. “We stood there waiting for Alan to come back. After a while, two unidentified officers came out without Alan, but this time holding batons. It was an intimidation meant for us.”

Once in custody of the police, Anakbayan claimed Nunez and Halleran continued to intimidate Alda, with another unidentified officer even going as far as asking if he was a “terrorist” after they found foreign currency in his pocket.

Alda remained uninformed by the authorities of the charges against him, even as he sat in jail. It was shortly after he was released later that morning when Alda learned of the charges upon receipt of a slip of paper: “disorderly conduct” and “resisting arrest.”

“Alan never resisted arrest or created a physically threatening situation for the cops,” Yuson said. “Why would he? We went to the police precinct to file a complaint. We went there looking for help!” Yuson stated.

“The police seemed to be more interested in insulting these three Filipino immigrants rather than helping them,” said Nicholas Cordero, an organizer for Anakbayan. “Alan and his companions were simply asserting their right to police protection, a move which landed Alan a night in a jail cell.”

“The police were out of line,” Cordero also said. “Alan’s only crime was that he was a Filipino, brown-skinned, and obviously foreign-born. Like many other immigrants of color, this is the treatment we receive from the public servants whose paychecks are supplied by our tax dollars to protect and serve. But more often than not, it is the police that end up threatening our rights and welfare.”

“The police must be held accountable for this,” said Cristina Godinez, a New York attorney and immigrant rights coordinator of the Philippine Forum, an immigrant rights advocacy organization in Queens.

“Their conduct was absolutely unacceptable and must not be tolerated.”

“I am concerned about the reckless disregard for an immigrant’s civil rights and the rash suspicion that he is a terrorist,” Godinez added.

A Jersey City police spokesman said the Police Department will be looking into the matter.

Cordero said the “criminal brutality and racial profiling” by the Jersey City police officers against Alda is not an isolated case.

“It’s a common reality for young Filipinos in Jersey City,” Cordero pointed out. “Immigrants are particularly vulnerable, especially in light of the immigrant-scapegoating climate post 9/11. What’s important is that we unite as a community to speak out against these injustices when they happen. We will not stay silent as long as this type of repression exists.”

Anakbayan, along with Philippine Forum and the NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines are convenors of the Justice For Immigrants Coalition, which is embarking on a campaign to have the charges against Alda dropped, file counter-charges against the police for criminal misconduct, and educate and facilitate community action with more Filipino youth and immigrants on police brutality, racial profiling and anti-immigrant conduct.

“Filipinos are largely a low-income minority group, and over 60 percent of all the Filipinos in the U.S. are foreign-born,” Cordero said. “Alan’s abuse by the police is every young Filipino’s concern. It could have happened to any one of us.”

“This is not just for me, but for all migrant youths,” Alda replied when asked why he came forward with his story.

An emergency Anakbayan meeting where Alda will be available to discuss the details of his arrest to the public and to the media is scheduled tomorrow (Feb. 25) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 605 Pavonia Avenue, #42 (near Summit Avenue) in Jersey City.

The meeting is open to all especially Filipino youths and immigrants.

For more information on the Justice For Immigrants campaign for Alan James Alda, call (646) 479-1605 or e-mail anakbayan_ny@yahoo.com