Thread: Phoenix police union seeks Holder's support on SB 1070

Phoenix police union seeks Holder's support on SB 1070

Michael Ferraresi -
Jun. 9, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Phoenix police union leaders met Tuesday in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, asking his support for Arizona's immigration law, saying city police have essentially used a similar directive since 2008 to detain undocumented immigrants.

Top leaders of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association told Holder that Senate Bill 1070 features similar provisions as the Phoenix policy known as Operations Order 1.4, which the city established to give officers the discretion to report suspected undocumented immigrants to federal agents in cases where the suspects are linked with other crimes.


PLEA President Mark Spencer estimated the Phoenix police policy had saved the city more than $600,000 in the past two years by transporting undocumented immigrants directly to immigration authorities, rather than paying to book them into jail.

The new law, which goes into effect July 29, makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. Critics, including Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris, said the city policy is far more limited than SB 1070, which he says forces police to act as immigration agents. They say it will create wasteful spending on everything from immigration-enforcement training to misdemeanor jail bookings and liability from civil-rights complaints.

Spencer, who oversees the union representing nearly 2,500 rank-and-file officers, criticized Harris for not believing that officers will enforce the new law without racial bias.

"Just because (Harris) has difficulty interacting with the minority community doesn't mean his officers do," Spencer told The Republic.

Spencer said he read Holder a department memo from Harris in which the chief lauded the current immigration-enforcement policy as a factor in a 24 percent drop in city homicides and drops in property crimes.

"(Harris) either disagrees because he's confused or he's disingenuous," Spencer said. "If it worked then, it will work now."

Harris said Tuesday that he didn't know of the meeting, which PLEA and Arizona Police Association leaders helped organize two weeks after a group of police chiefs warned Holder about potential civil-rights lawsuits from local officers enforcing federal immigration law.

Harris bowed out of the May 26 meeting to return to the Valley after Officer Travis Murphy was shot and killed in the line of duty.

The existing Phoenix operations order hasn't resulted in any serious misconduct investigation, police said. However, Spencer was the subject of an internal investigation that cleared him of violating the policy by wrongfully targeting a day laborer accused of trespassing at a Home Depot in central Phoenix.

Harris said Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor and other chiefs, including those from Los Angles and Philadelphia, echoed his feelings and urged Holder to encourage congressional action to secure the southern border.

Harris said Operations Order 1.4 allows Phoenix officers to question arrested people about their legal status, to ask Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the legal status of non-criminal suspects if they're linked with criminal activity, and transport some suspects directly to ICE as part of criminal investigations.

The provisions of SB 1070, Harris said, contradict federal law, which limits the role of local police in enforcing federal regulations.

"What (SB) 1070 does is take the administrative portion of federal immigration law and criminalize it," he said.

Phoenix police booked more than 45,300 criminal suspects annually in the past three years, though only 13 percent to 16 percent of those resulted in ICE holds, according to statistics released by the department. Phoenix and other Valley cities pay $192 per booking and more than $70 each following day that a suspect is held.

Bookings with ICE holds dropped 13 percent in the first full year of Operations Order 1.4, according to police.

Several lawsuits have been filed against SB 1070, including ones by Phoenix and Tucson officers, whose attorneys motioned last week to consolidate their two cases in court.

Phoenix Officer David Salgado, an 18-year police veteran and longtime PLEA member, said he does not intend to enforce SB 1070 because of the risk of civil-rights abuses.

Salgado's attorney, Stephen Montoya, said SB 1070 provides Arizona police with far broader ability to detain people for low-level code violations or civil traffic issues in line with illegal immigration.

"The union is out of line spending union money on political issues," Montoya said. "A lot of PLEAs members are intimidated and afraid to speak out against (the law)."

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoe ... pport.html

Thank you police officers of Arizona! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Phoenix Officer David Salgado, an 18-year police veteran and longtime PLEA member, said he does not intend to enforce SB 1070 because of the risk of civil-rights abuses.

So then If I go down to Arizona------Pull out a 357 and rob a bank does this mean officer salgado is not gonna track me down because I might get shot?

Or how do I get a list of what laws the good police are not enforcing that day?

Originally Posted by Waiter

Phoenix Officer David Salgado, an 18-year police veteran and longtime PLEA member, said he does not intend to enforce SB 1070 because of the risk of civil-rights abuses.

So then If I go down to Arizona------Pull out a 357 and rob a bank does this mean officer salgado is not gonna track me down because I might get shot?

Or how do I get a list of what laws the good police are not enforcing that day?

I think someone needs to check officer Salgado's garage, shed and offshore bank accounts.



And Officer Salgado needs to find another line of work so his police department can open up a spot for someone who knows how to enforce the law, all the laws including immigration law, without violating anyone's civil rights.

Spencer, who oversees the union representing nearly 2,500 rank-and-file officers, criticized Harris for not believing that officers will enforce the new law without racial bias.


"Just because (Harris) has difficulty interacting with the minority community doesn't mean his officers do," Spencer told The Republic.

Good comeback!

Phoenix police booked more than 45,300 criminal suspects annually in the past three years

Do you think they may have a criminal problem there?

Or are the numbers low enough to warrant no action!

Originally Posted by forest

Spencer, who oversees the union representing nearly 2,500 rank-and-file officers, criticized Harris for not believing that officers will enforce the new law without racial bias.


"Just because (Harris) has difficulty interacting with the minority community doesn't mean his officers do," Spencer told The Republic.

Good comeback!

Exactly. They also need to be checking his garage, shed and offshore bank accounts.

Judy wrote:
"Thank you police officers of Arizona! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

You can do so at:

Phoenix Law Enforcement Association
http://www.azplea.com/

Contact information:
http://www.azplea.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=12

and i seem to remember a spokes person for the phoenix police in an interview on Fox say that they have been doing this for years

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-5342--0-0.html