Labor & Employment Law

CWA Members Help Tucson Shooting Probe

By Mike Hall

Harvey Camacho and Randy Clarke, members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7026 in Tucson, Ariz., have won praise for their role in helping secure evidence crucial to the investigation of the Jan. 8 shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

Arizona?s Active Voices, the Arizona State AFL-CIO newsletter, reports that FBI Supervisory Special Agent Mark Cwynar complimented the quick action by the pair of Qwest Communications technicians in securing a backpack later found to belong to Jared Loughner who has been charged with murder and assault in the case.

Five days after the murders, Camacho and Clarke were working in Tucson neighborhood when they were approached by a teenager with a backpack. The boy told the pair that he had just found the pack and opened it to discover hundreds of rounds of 9mm ammunition inside, the same caliber used in the attack, along with other items. He said was reluctant to call the police. According to Arizona Active Voices:

The CWA members encouraged him to dial 911, but he declined and walked away. After contacting police, the workers ran after him and found the bag abandoned nearby. The CWA workers turned over the backpack to the FBI and Pima County sheriff’s deputies, who were able to learn more about shooter activities in the hours leading up to the tragic shooting because of the discovery.

Click here for more news from the Arizona AFL-CIO.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on February 02, 2011 (boomark / email).