Police Won’t Tell Results of Probe of Aliens’ Arrests

San Diego police said Tuesday that they will not make public the results of an internal investigation into reports that an officer may have violated department policy by holding seven illegal aliens for the U.S. Border Patrol. Police policy explicitly forbids such action.

“It’s an internal investigation, and anything that comes out is confidential information that is protected by law,” said David Cohen, a department spokesman.

Officers found to have violated department policies may face a range of actions, from verbal reprimands to dismissal, police said. But officials declined to specify what action might be applicable if a violation were found in this specific instance.

Sparking the inquiry was an incident in Balboa Park on the morning of Aug. 17. The Border Patrol said it responded to the scene at the request of San Diego police and arrested seven illegal alien men, all of whom were returned to Mexico.

Several of the aliens arrested said in interviews that Officer David Ramirez had held them for arrival of the immigration agent.

For many years, activists fearing harassment of Latinos have maintained that local police should not be involved in the enforcement of federal immigration statutes. Responding to such complaints, many police agencies in the Southwest and Southern California, including the San Diego Police Department, have adopted policies curtailing such activity.

“San Diego police officers shall not initiate police contact solely because a person is suspected of being in violation of immigration laws,” states the current city policy, enacted in August, 1986. “Undocumented aliens will not be detained for release to the Border Patrol.”