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Suit Targets LAPD Policy
A group challenges the department's rule that prohibits officers from asking individuals about their immigration status, saying it is illegal.
By Patrick McGreevy
Times Staff Writer

May 2, 2006

A nonprofit government watchdog group that lobbies for immigration reform filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the Los Angeles Police Department's policy of generally prohibiting officers from asking about the immigration status of individuals and limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Judicial Watch, which is headquartered in Washington, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to prevent the LAPD from enforcing Special Order 40, said Candice E. Jackson, an attorney for the group.

"It violates the state and federal law by prohibiting the maximum amount of cooperation between the Police Department and immigration authorities in enforcing immigration laws," Jackson said.

LAPD officials declined to comment on the lawsuit. "We do not make statements on litigation," Officer Jason Lee said.

However, other city officials have long defended Special Order 40, which was adopted in 1979 by then-Police Chief Daryl F. Gates to encourage all people, regardless of their immigration status, to report crimes and cooperate with police.

Without the order, council members said, some witnesses might be unwilling to come forward. Others have argued that without the policy, some victims might also suffer in silence rather than seek police protection.

"If we repeal Special Order 40, it will lead to an increase in crime," Councilman Jose Huizar said. "People should feel comfortable, whether documented or not, to approach police officers and report a crime."

The rule has been revised to allow officers to investigate when they have evidence that a criminal suspect has been deported and has illegally reentered the country, officials said.

But critics of Special Order 40 cite the Costa Mesa Police and Orange County Sheriff's departments, which have begun developing plans for officers to train alongside federal agents so they can help enforce immigration laws.

The lawsuit was filed on the same day hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Los Angeles to signal their opposition to proposals that would crack down on illegal immigration.

The same group also sued the LAPD a month ago for failing to turn over documents showing how Special Order 40 is enforced and how officers are trained on the rule and disciplined when it is violated.