Thread: AZ-Bullhead City's Police Chief sounds off on new immig law

Bullhead City's Police Chief sounds off on new immigration bill
Updated: May 04, 2010 1:40 AM CDT


Bullhead City, AZ (KTNV) - Arizona lawmakers have amended the recently approved state immigration bill, making it against the law for officers to use racial profiling as a factor in identifying undocumented immigrants.

Some public officials are still concerned about all the changes and how their departments will have to implement them once the law goes into effect three months from now.

Action News traveled to Bullhead City, Arizona and talked with the Chief of Police to get his views on a measure that has sparked much controversy.

Bullhead City's population is just under 50,000 with nearly 20% of the people being Hispanic.

Though the legislation has been modified allowing officers to only question a person's immigration status if they are detained or arrested, Bullhead City Police Chief Rodney Head says it will take training and scenario playing to define what really is reasonable suspicion.

That is, without having ethnicity play a part in the process.

"You don't look for race, you look for things that indicate that a person is not here legally," explained Chief Head.

"How would you do that," asked Action News reporter Annette Arreola.

"For example someone driving with a form of ID," said Chief Head.

Aside from the legal implications surrounding the immigration law, Chief Head says the measure is just another burden for local taxpayers and for his own department which has already lost nearly $2 million in funding due to budget cuts.

"Incarcerating someone under a state law, the local government has to pay the county for that. So in this instance it could run us up to $150 the first day and $80 the next," said Chief Head.

Though training for his 83 officers on how to carry out this law would have a minimal impact on their budget, the chief wonders when it'll actually take place.

The department signed up four years ago for the 287G program to partner up with ICE officials but have been told by the Federal Government there's not enough money to train them.

"Putting one more task on local law enforcement burdens an already over- burdened system. There's no question about that," explained Chief Head.


http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12419990

Bullhead City is on the other end of the bridge from Laughlin, NV - casinos and cheap labor.

The department signed up four years ago for the 287G program to partner up with ICE officials but have been told by the Federal Government there's not enough money to train them.

The Democratically controlled Federal Government is too intent on trying to pass a crooked immigration reform to care about training for local enforcement of immigration laws of any kind. And they won't train for future enforcement either, you can count on it.