The city’s police inspector general will begin monitoring LAPD encounters with federal immigration agents and report its findings to the Police Commission, the office confirmed to The LA Local.
“We’ll be working with the department to request notification of all future incidents of department personnel responding to calls for service at the scene of immigration enforcement action,” Inspector General Matthew Barragan introduced at the police commission meeting on Tuesday. “A police special investigator, a member of my team, will review all body worn video recordings and will report back to this full board at future meetings regarding compliance with the executive directive.”
The move follows Mayor Karen Bass’ Feb. 10 directive requiring the LAPD to turn on body cameras and ask federal immigration agents to identify themselves during operations.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the department would be in “full compliance with the directive.”
McDonnell recently faced backlash from residents, state senators, City Council members and immigration rights advocates after saying he would not enforce a new law that makes it a crime for agents to wear masks during immigration operations. He argued the law was bad policy and could threaten public safety if enforced.
Soon after those statements, a judge temporarily blocked the mask ban while considering a federal government lawsuit claiming the law improperly limits its work. Other provisions, including requirements that agents identify themselves, remain in effect.
While McDonnell did not explicitly retract his earlier statements on the mask ban during Tuesday’s meeting, he said the mayor’s order is now being followed.
Immigration agents have regularly worked while masked and at times refused to provide their names, agencies and badge numbers to the public, a departure from longstanding law enforcement practice and a violation of recently enacted California law.
Bass directed the police department to enforce the portions of the law not under litigation. The order also requires the department to retain footage for potential use in legal actions by county or state prosecutors.
One commissioner said each LAPD division is expected to designate at least two officers as immigration liaisons, responsible for communicating with department leadership about what’s happening on the ground.
McDonnell said a department administrator would provide a more detailed update on the LAPD’s knowledge of immigration operations across the city at the next commission meeting. He also said the department plans additional public outreach to help communities better understand its role.
“We’re there not to enforce civil immigration law, but to be able to keep the peace at the scenes where this is occurring and to be able to be the police department for everybody,” McDonnell said. “Trust is our currency and we have some work to do to be able to build that up after the incidents we’ve seen since June. So that’s some work in progress, but we are including all of our community members.”
