Jamiel's Law Update- a Response From LA City Council Member

In the aftermath of the murder of Jamiel Shaw by an illegal alien in Los Angeles, I and others have sent letters to members of the LA City Council asking them to revoke or modify Special Rule 40, which puts restrictions on LAPD officers in determining a person's legal status-even with illegal alien gang members.

Below is a letter I got from City Council member Bernard Parks (formerly Chief of LAPD).

"Thank you for your letter regarding Jamiel's Law. Of course, I feel horrible about what happened to Jamiel Shaw, and I know first-hand the pain that his parents are suffering. However, I don't believe the solution we are all searching for in answer to this devastating incident should be to blindly embrace the politically-motivated misinformation generated by someone who is running for Mayor of the City of Los Angeles.

As stated by a recent edirorial in the Los Angeles Times, which I have enclosed with this letter, these are the facts: Jamiel Shaw's alleged killer was arrested by the Culver City Police Department, incarcerated by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Depoartment, and should have been held by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office pending review of his immigration status and eventual deportation. As stated in the editorial, 'The tragedy exposes deplorable failures in the jailhouse processing of illegal immigrant criminals, but it has nothing to do with the LAPD, much less Special Order 40'

Further, as proposed, Jamiel's Law is at best poorly written and at worst constitutes racial profiling. While I agree that criminal gang members present a clear and present danger to the communities they inhabit, there is no viable way to determine by cursory inspection during a field stop, the status of the individual stopped"

Bernard Parks
Councilmember 8th district

Though Parks raises some valid points, it says nothing about why LAPD and ICE could not work together on a daily basis. He believes it would be illegal and constitute racial profiling. I disagree. If illegal alien gang members are exclusively Hispanic, what are the cops supposed to do-look for illegal Swedish gang members to make it even? Why are there not ICE agents screening the inmates of the LA County Jail-approximately 25% of whose prisoners are illegal aliens? Yes, the jail is under the control of the LA Sheriff's Department, but they are also negligent.

Mr Parks says that there is no viable way to determine during a field stop the status of the individual stopped. No? C'mon. I worked Los Angeles as a DEA agent for several years. These gang members have their gang tattoos all over their bodies. How long do you have to talk to someone before you at least suspect they are from another country? If you had an ICE agent with you, they would clearly have the authority to ask additional questions. The two agencies should be working hand-in-hand on the streets, in the jails and in each others' file rooms and data bases.

The enclosed LA Times article (the Times supports illegal aliens)states that, under Special Order 40, "officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." LAPD states that their officers "are allowed to inquire about the legal status of suspects as long as the immigration question is not what prompted the contact."

Understandably, officers are confused about what they can and cannot do. The usual result is that the officers take the safe path as opposed to being proactive.

If the city and the federal government are serious about cracking down on illegal alien gang members, then they need to work together. This is true in other large urban areas plagued by gangs. The local police and ICE working together can get results. This is something that should ultimately, if necessary, go to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, even a favorable ruling will not motivate a city like LA to take action.

Sadly, more innocent people in LA will have to die because of the negligence of the city and its police chief. The problem is that serious.