CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES
An appeals court Wednesday upheld the Los Angeles Police Department’s Special Order 40, a policy governing how officers interact with immigrants.
The three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeal unanimously agreed with a lower court’s decision to throw out a lawsuit, in which a Los Angeles man argued that the LAPD’s policy violated federal and state laws.
In place since 1979, Special Order 40 prohibits LAPD officers from initiating contact with someone solely to determine whether they are in the country legally.
Police Chief William J. Bratton has said the policy is an important tool as it encourages illegal immigrants who witness crimes to assist police without fear of being deported.
The judges rejected the plaintiff’s claim that the order violates a federal statute that prohibits restrictions on the exchange of information between immigration agents and other law enforcement officers.
-- Joel Rubin
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