Wrangle awaits Costa Mesa’s next police chief

Christopher Shawkey will soon step into the center of an argument.

On one side is the mayor of Costa Mesa, who will want him to help train police to check the immigration status of criminal suspects. On the other is the county sheriff, who has cautioned the city against just such a move.

A day after agreeing to become Costa Mesa’s next police chief, Shawkey said he was ready for the challenge.

“I’ve done my homework,” the 47-year-old Phoenix police commander and veteran of border-state immigration politics said Tuesday as he prepared to take over the 160-officer department. “I don’t think we know yet what’s going to happen in Costa Mesa.”

Two unknowns are whether the federal government will still authorize the city to do the immigration checks and how the policy would be implemented.

Shawkey’s predecessor, John Hensley, announced his retirement in April after months of wrangling over the city’s immigration policy, which has drawn national attention. Though the chief offered no specific reason for his departure, some city officials attributed it to the controversy. Shawkey’s start date hasn’t been set.

Shawkey said he had been informed that the city approved Mayor Allan Mansoor’s policy in December and he agreed to implement it, noting that he has had experience dealing with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Border Patrol in his current role as the top police official at the Phoenix airport.

Shawkey also brings experience from a state that voted Tuesday to deny bail to arrested illegal immigrants, and Phoenix voters will decide next year on a plan to train police and city employees to check the immigration status of suspects and applicants for public assistance.

But Shawkey said he planned to allay fears that Costa Mesa’s policy would alienate crime victims who are here illegally.

“It’s got to be implemented in a way that protects people’s constitutional rights,” he said. “We don’t want to alienate a segment of the community that we rely on and need to work with.”

Among other things, Shawkey will have to contend with Sheriff Michael S. Carona’s position that immigration enforcement by Costa Mesa officers is unnecessary after federal approval last month for 20 sheriff’s deputies at the Orange County Jail to check suspects’ immigration status. In a letter published by the Daily Pilot on Nov. 4, Carona wrote: “While I appreciate the efforts of some local politicians to assist my department, I believe duplicating this program is not in our best interests at this time. Local taxpayer dollars are better spent developing crime prevention and intervention programs for at-risk youth.”

The sheriff could not be reached for comment.

Shawkey said he understands such concerns “because any resource given to immigration control would be one less resource dedicated to another project.”

But Mansoor and some of his supporters intend to press ahead with the city program, seeking the required federal approval despite Carona’s position.

“It would be my belief,” Councilman Eric Bever said, “that if the sheriff is not screening everyone, we would need to fill the gap. Our misdemeanor suspects are not transported to the county jail, so misdemeanor arrests would need to be screened by Costa Mesa officers.”

In trying to block the plan, a group of influential politicians, residents and businesses -- including C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, which owns South Coast Plaza -- backed two council candidates opposing Mansoor and political ally Councilwoman Wendy Leece in Tuesday’s election. But Mansoor and Leece were reelected, forming -- with Bever -- a voting majority to move the plan forward.

Humberto Caspa, an outspoken opponent of police involvement in immigration enforcement, expressed dismay. “The Latino community has no power,” he said. “We won’t do anything to change their minds.”

Shawkey said, “I’m confident that we can work together with all parties to make the plan work.”

garrett.therolf@latimes.com