Police Accountability Commission hosts event on community safety
Speakers addressed concerns on federal involvement with local officers and family preparedness under California law
By HANNAH OSBORN — city@theaggie.org
On Sept. 10, the City of Davis Police Accountability Commission hosted its annual public outreach meeting, titled “Working Together to Protect Our Neighbors,” at the Veterans Memorial Center. The purpose of the event was to inform the public about the commission’s work and provide resources in light of community concerns over the presence of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The event featured three speakers: Michael Gennaco, the Davis independent police auditor from the Office of Independent Review Group; Davis Police Chief Todd Henry; and Ann Block, a senior staff attorney for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). Simultaneous Spanish translation was provided at the event.
Gennaco began by giving an overview of his experience prosecuting immigration officers for civil rights violations. He explained the current state of California law enforcement involvement with federal agents.
“In our state [...] there is now state law that disallows law enforcement from being involved in immigration enforcement,” Gennaco said. “The rationale was developed about 40 years ago.”
Gennaco elaborated on the reasoning behind policies regarding agency involvement.
“There has been an understanding [...] that if local agencies get involved with federal enforcement, that would create a level of distrust among the immigrant community,” Gennaco said. “The current [federal] administration does not care.”
Gennaco addressed the fact that local agencies like the Davis Police Department operate in a complicated area, given recent precedent and legal restrictions against local law enforcement engaging with federal immigration enforcement, while still affirming a commitment to serve the community.
“Local leadership, local elected officials, we’re doing the best we can,” Gennaco said. “Sanctuary city [status] has now become an issue, and it’s still unclear how that’s gonna come down and whether or not funds can be held from cities who announce themselves as sanctuary cities.”
Henry followed Gennaco, further elaborating on how Davis Police Department is ensuring community safety under state and local ordinances regarding its ability to interact with ICE agents.
“I think the key piece that really warrants repeating is this dynamic of trust,” Henry said. “If we, as a police department, do not have trust from the entire community, we are not effective.”
Henry outlined what the California Values Act (SB 54) allows local law enforcement to do if compelled by federal agents to participate in immigration enforcement activities.
“We cannot use resources to enforce immigration, which is great,” Henry said. “It makes it very easy for us. It’s very plain. It’s the law. We follow the law.”
Henry also explained how the city’s sanctuary city ordinance impacts not just law enforcement, but all city matters regarding ICE involvement or inquiries.
“It prohibits employees from sharing information with ICE,” Henry said. “It restricts the storing of that information, with a few caveats. It prohibits a city-controlled resource or property from being used by ICE as a staging facility or an operational base, and to an extent, the ordinance to city resource restrictions [applies] to state contractors too.”
Henry also expressed that it can be difficult to address ICE presence in the community due to a lack of information from federal authorities, leading to confusion and fear from community members.
“It used to be that [ICE] would notify local law enforcement agencies if they were coming to town,” Henry said. “The reason for that would be that they wanted to do deconfliction [...] I no longer get those calls [...] it's a potentially dangerous situation.”
Despite the current lack of clarity from federal agencies, Henry reiterated the goals of his leadership.
“We don’t work with ICE,” Henry said. “The only thing I care about is that every member of this community feels safe. And that they know if they call the Davis Police Department, we are coming to help, not make a situation for them.”
Block gave the final presentation of the event on family preparedness in the case of detainment or deportation. Using an example case, Block discussed what legal options are available depending on family goals and needs.
“There’s different options for protecting these children,” Block said. “They can do a verbal agreement with a potential caregiver [...] there’s a caregiver authorization affidavit, and that helps a family friend who’s temporarily housing and caring for the child [...] Thirdly, they can nominate a guardian.”
The event ended with answering clarifying questions regarding family law and immigration, as well as current law enforcement data collection. More information regarding the Police Accountability Commission and its meetings can be found on the commission’s website.
Written by: Hannah Osborn— city@theaggie.org