👮 Making Life "Uncomfortable": Former TPD Officer Reveals How He Treated Tucson's Unhoused
Charlie Foley fondly recalls harassment tactics that disproportionately targeted Indigenous and Brown residents
Based on the Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone for 3/10/25.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🎙️ A radio show called Wake Up Live discussed Tucson 🌵 but missed key parts of our city's story. 🚨 Charlie Foley, a former police officer, now hands out 🇺🇸 flags to those who need them. He shared how he used to make unhoused individuals uncomfortable during his time on the force. 💬 Joe DeSimone explained finance and business, suggesting tariffs on imports 📈 would benefit America, yet overlooked how this might increase costs for low-income families. 🍽️ The show covered Mexican restaurants and cuisine 🌮 but excluded voices from Mexican-American or Indigenous communities, integral to Tucson's vibrant culture and history.
🗝️ Takeaways
🇺🇸 Charlie Foley's "Flags for the Flagless" project symbolizes conservative preoccupation with patriotic symbols over addressing the material needs of struggling communities
👮 Former officer Foley openly admitted to tactics making life "uncomfortable" for unhoused people, reflecting policing approaches that disproportionately target BIPOC communities
💰 "Brother Joe" defended tariff policies without acknowledging how they impact borderland economics and working-class families on both sides of la Frontera
🌱 Both hosts ridiculed plant-based alternatives while ignoring how industrial meat production harms Indigenous communities through environmental degradation
🏙️ The show's discussion of Tucson systematically erased Chicano, Mexican-American, and Indigenous perspectives despite discussing a city deeply shaped by these cultures
🌵 Advertisements and commentary portrayed Mexican culture as consumable for white audiences while simultaneously demonizing actual Mexican and Indigenous people
Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone: White Flags, Wall Street, and the Whitewashing of Tucson's Reality
Sitting by my garden in Tucson, where the morning sun hits differently than it does in the foothills, I tuned into Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone—a ritual I maintain to understand how the other half thinks. The March 10th broadcast was a masterclass in conservative mythology, a Sonoran Desert mirage of patriotism and prosperity that bears little resemblance to the Tucson I inhabit.
Charlie Foley: Where Flags Matter More Than People
The show welcomed former TPD officer Charlie Foley, now dedicating his retirement to "Flags for the Flagless"—a project that would be comical if it weren't so emblematic of misplaced priorities. In a city where housing insecurity plagues neighborhoods like mine, this güero's solution is... more flags?
"When exploring America's best city for Mexican food," began a segment intro, the irony apparently lost on everyone that the show would go on to feature not a single Chicano voice discussing the city where we comprise nearly half the population.
Foley spoke reverently about American-made flags, insisting on the importance of FMAA certification. "I like the flag from Suarez," he said, one of the few moments where a Spanish surname wasn't associated with border crossing or crime on this program.
Qué interesante that reverence for symbols of America doesn't extend to reverence for the people who've inhabited this land since before borders existed...
The former officer didn't hide his disdain for current policing approaches. "Why are we allowing the fentanyl and all the users to make our lives uncomfortable as a cop?" he asked, nostalgically describing how he used to "make it uncomfortable" for unhoused people at bus stops.
"I would park my patrol car there and make it uncomfortable for them," he shared, untroubled by the reality that those "them" are disproportionately Indigenous and Brown people pushed to society's margins by the very policies his worldview upholds.
Because nothing says "protect and serve" like harassing los pobres trying to find shelter from the Arizona sun...
Brother Joe: Capitalism's Defender Ignores Its Victims
The second half featured financial advisor "Brother Joe" DeSimone delivering market gospel with unwavering faith. "It's amazing how people don't understand the stock market can go down," he pontificated, somehow missing that for many in my community, the problem isn't understanding market fluctuations—it's having anything to invest in the first place.
"These globalists like Warren Buffett and Soros, they must hate this deleveraging," Joe theorized about Trump's tariffs, seamlessly weaving economic commentary with right-wing bogeymen.
¿De veras? The same "globalists" who built fortunes dismantling worker protections and exploiting border economics that have devastated communities on both sides of la frontera?
Joe defended Trump's tariff approach with stunning simplicity: "If China's going to tariff us 20%, why don't we tariff them?" This analysis conveniently ignores that these costs ultimately fall hardest on working families in places like South Tucson, where a few extra dollars on necessities can break an already strained budget.
The conversation devolved into a mockery of plant-based foods, with both hosts celebrating Beyond Meat's market struggles. "They could've put a piece of cheese on it," Joe offered as serious analysis, apparently unaware that industrial meat production is among the most environmentally destructive forces in the borderlands, draining aquifers and polluting watersheds that Indigenous communities depend on.
The Colonial Connection: Tucson's Right-Wing Ecosystem
The show featured a moment of connection when Foley learned that Michael Quinn of Rockin' for Heroes had financially supported his flag project. "Mike Quinn, God bless him, never met me, but he saw someone who's doing good," Foley recounted.
How beautiful that conservatives can find money for flags while our community organizations struggle for funding to address actual needs...
Chris closed by teasing tomorrow's segment featuring Hank Amos from Tucson Realty, who will apparently blame downtown's challenges on "prostitution and cocaine" rather than acknowledging the gentrification that has pushed longtime residents from barrios their families inhabited for generations.
Between segments, advertisements for Mexican restaurants owned by non-Mexicans promised "authentic" experiences, while recurring mentions of immigration focused exclusively on enforcement rather than humanity—the complex border reality reduced to a caricature by those who view the region through windshields, never on foot.
Reclaiming Our Narrative, Rebuilding Our Power
Despite the show's colonial perspective, there's profound hope in our community's resilience. For every voice longing for heavier policing in vulnerable neighborhoods, there are grassroots collectives like Tucson Solidarity Network and Mariposas Sin Fronteras working for genuine justice and dignity.
For every financial "expert" preaching market worship, there are community credit unions and mutual aid networks building economic models based on cooperation rather than exploitation. The Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O'odham continue developing sustainable alternatives that honor ancestral wisdom rather than extractive economics.
And for every "Flags for the Flagless" initiative, there are Indigenous youth reclaiming languages, arts, and practices that connect them to this land in ways no piece of cloth ever could—true patriotism rooted in care for the earth and each other.
Forjando El Camino (Forging the Path)
Want to build the borderlands we deserve? Support locally-owned businesses in South Tucson and on the westside. Join border humanitarian groups providing water and medical aid. Volunteer with community gardens revitalizing traditional agriculture and food sovereignty.
The Sonoran Desert has sustained life through challenging conditions for millennia. Following its example, we too can transform hostility into abundance through collective action and mutual respect.
¿Qué piensas? Is true community safety created through aggressive policing and symbolic nationalism, or through addressing root causes of suffering with compassion and systemic change? And how can we reclaim the narrative about the borderlands from those who profit from misrepresenting our reality?
Deja tus pensamientos abajo. La lucha sigue.
Notable Quotes:
"If I saw a tent or a town of people on a bus stop at the corner of Fort Lowell, blocking the bus stop, I would park my patrol car there and make it uncomfortable for them." — Charlie Foley, revealing his approach to policing homelessness that disproportionately impacts BIPOC communities
"Why are we allowing ourselves for the fentanyl and all the users to make our lives uncomfortable as a cop? Especially if it's in my beat, I would make a point to make their life as uncomfortable as possible." — Charlie Foley, prioritizing police comfort over humane approaches to addiction and poverty
"These globalists like Warren Buffett and Soros, they must hate this deleveraging... they have made a fortune on cheap money, on cheap labor, producing products that they could sell here." — Brother Joe, employing right-wing tropes while ignoring corporate exploitation of border economics
"If China's going to tariff us 20%, why don't we tariff them?" — Brother Joe, offering simplistic analysis of complex trade policies that impact borderland communities
"80% of those who have been incarcerated have been in foster care. It's incredible that 8 out of 10 inmates, male or female, have touched the foster care system." — Unidentified speaker during an informational segment, one of the few acknowledgments of systemic issues behind incarceration
People Mentioned:
Chris DeSimone - Host of Wake Up Live on the Live the Dream Media Network
"Tomorrow, we have Danny Sawyer from Tucson Strength and Hank Amos from Tucson Realty who is one of the partners in Hi-Fi downtown and he's going to tell you why exactly they closed it and you're going to hear the word probably prostitution and cocaine."
Charlie Foley - Former TPD officer, founder of Flags for the Flagless
"If you're gonna get a flag box from veterans, it just seems like something about putting a flag from China on a box from America."
Brother Joe DeSimone - Financial advisor at Blue Chip Planning
"Trump is leading the revolution on fake money, on printing money. And why should we have business in manufacturing other countries when we can do it here?"
Chad Kasmar - Current Tucson Police Chief
"Chad's been a patrolman a long time. He and I came up through the ranks together... Great cop, great patrolman. But I think at the end of the day, we know who his boss is."
Michael Quinn - Associated with Rockin' for Heroes, supporter of Foley's flag initiative
"Mike Quinn, God bless him, never met me, but he saw that someone who's doing good and it felt right, and wanted to contribute."
Warren Buffett and George Soros - Mentioned by Brother Joe as examples of "globalists"
Referenced as benefiting from "cheap money, cheap labor"
Hank Amos - From Tucson Realty, upcoming guest to discuss downtown issues
Mentioned as partner in Hi-Fi downtown who will discuss closure, with DeSimone suggesting it will involve "prostitution and cocaine"
Danny Sawyer - From Tucson Strength, upcoming guest
Mentioned only as future guest
Donald Trump - Former and current President, referenced regarding tariff policies
Policies discussed throughout the financial segment
Claudia Sheinbaum - President of Mexico, discussed in context of border policies
"Claudia gave up the border of 10,000 troops. That's what she gave up and plans to put ICE in Mexican airports."
