Police seek council approval for $100,850 Operation Stone Garden grant; chief cites border‑related interdiction statistics

The police chief asked council to accept the next iteration of the Operation Stone Garden grant in the amount of $100,850 for overtime and mileage reimbursement. The chief said the department has participated in the program since 2005 and that the deployments focus on high‑visibility law enforcement south of Sierra Vista, including Hereford and Palominas; immigration‑related matters encountered are turned over to Border Patrol.

The chief provided deployment statistics for Operation Stone Garden work in the 02/2024 period: 298 deployments; 680 traffic stops resulting in 393 citations or warnings; 37 subjects turned over to Border Patrol; 12 human‑smuggling cases; 11 criminal prosecutions (misdemeanor and felony); 8 failure‑to‑yield incidents (some stopped before community entry); 33 vehicle seizures; 2 firearm seizures; $3,909 currency seized; and 15 drug seizures including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. The chief said Arizona is among the top states for fentanyl smuggling into the country and described Stone Garden as an “opportunity to do some interdiction.”

Council members thanked the chief and noted the grant explains why Sierra Vista officers sometimes operate outside the city limits (for example, in Palominas or Bisbee) when funded deployments occur. The chief said that if federal funding were lost the community’s safety posture would change and urged continuing the activity.