Suit: L.A. police cower to illegals

Cops accused of shirking responsibility to protect citizens by not asking status
Posted: May 3, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

The Los Angeles Police Department is being sued in connection with its policy prohibiting officers from inquiring about an individual's immigration status, and reportedly restricts them from cooperating with federal immigration officials.

The action has been filed by the public-interest group Judicial Watch, and asks the court to prohibit the LAPD from expending taxpayer funds to enforce and maintain "Special Order 40," claiming it violates both California and federal laws and puts American citizens at risk.

"Special Order 40 is illegal and dangerous," said the group's president Tom Fitton. "It constrains police officers from enforcing the law and places everyone at risk from criminal illegal aliens."

Initiated in 1979 by former L.A. Police Chief Daryl Gates, the measure reads, in part, "Officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person. Officers shall not arrest nor book persons for violation of Title 8, Section 1325 of the United States Immigration Code (Illegal Entry)."

According to a Board of Police Commissioners' report in February 2001, in practice, the policies and procedures also "preclude officers from ... notifying the [federal immigration officials] about a person's undocumented status unless the person has been arrested."