Two young men were playing their guitars on the street – not the greatest musicians, but they could halfway carry a tune. It’s the same scene I’ve seen in many a town, from Santa Fe to Vilnius, Lithuania.

Imagine my surprise, then, to see two police cars come driving up, and three policeman approach the two young men. OK, I thought, they need a license to play in Durango, and the police will tell them to pack it up and go.

The two packed up their guitars, and one started to walk away. Suddenly, two of the policemen grabbed the guy and handcuffed him!

What?

Next thing we knew, they hauled him off in the back of the squad car as his friend pleaded with the remaining policeman. I really could not believe what I was seeing and felt like I was watching a bad movie.

This is not the friendly Durango I’ve come to vacation in.

Later, I saw the young man who was not arrested and asked what happened. He told me his friend had done nothing other than ask “Am I being detained?” and when the policeman said “Yes,” his friend started to walk away – and was handcuffed for “resisting arrest.”

If this is how young people are treated by the police, and that’s all it takes to be arrested in Durango, I think I’ll take my dollars elsewhere for vacation – someplace that welcomes musicians and doesn’t go overboard with police action.

Mary Lee Dereske

Placitas, New Mexico