Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: FEBRUARY 2017 17 DAVID TODD JIM McDONNELL OPINION/EDITORIAL A s sheriff of the largest and one of the most di- verse counties in the nation, I want to assure our residents, and especially our immi- grant communities, that the Los Angeles County Sher- iff’s Department is deeply committed to helping all people in their time of need regardless of their immigra- tion status. Moreover, I recognize that enforcement of immigration law is the responsibility of the federal government. My deputies will not de- tain or arrest any individual solely on suspicion of ille- gal presence in the United States. This is our promise. It is also our department policy. Most important, it is the law. We, as local law enforce- ment, do not have the consti- tutional authority, much less the extraordinary number of personnel required, to participate in mass deporta- tions. Do not be swayed by the fear-based tactics or exag- geration of special interests who are using rhetoric for political gain at the expense of civic dialogue. Suchfearmongeringserves only to undermine decades of trust-building and com- munity engagement efforts. In 2014, the California leg- islature passed the Trust Act to ensure that in- mates in local jails are guar- anteed certain rights and pro- tections. I am absolute in my commitment to upholding both the letter and the spirit of that law. Sheriff’s Department per- sonnel do not participate in determining the immigra- tion status of any inmate in our custody. Before allowing ICE agents access to interview any inmate in our jail, our personnel follow strict poli- cies and procedures that are guided and informed by the Trust Act. Namesaredouble-checked to ensure that only inmates who meet the release criteria established by the act are ac- cessible to ICE agents. ICE agents are only allowed to interview inmates convicted of serious or violent crimes, as defined by Penal Code sections 1192.7 and 667.5. These include crimes such as murder, robbery, rape, kidnapping and human traf- ficking. We will not detain any inmates beyond their sched- uled release dates, regardless of whether or not there are valid ICE detainers. Due to our rigorous sys- tem of checks and balances, we are confident that only the most violent predators are being released to the custody of ICE. Our num- bers reflect those checks and balances. Of the more than 120,000 inmates released from the Los Angeles County jails in 2016, less than 1 percent were released to the custody of ICE. We believe those convict- ed inmates were among the worst of the worst: predators who of- ten preyed upon their own immi- grant communities and profited from their victims’ fear of being deported. We need all these victims and witnesses to be- lieve in us and come forward to help us do good police work. Whether a victim or wit- ness is undocumented is not even a consideration for us throughout the justice pro- cess. A vast majority of crimes are solved because someone, regardless of their immigra- tion status, had the courage to step forward and work with police. Big promises are to be expected from presidential candidates, but reality often intrudes in meeting those promises. President-elect Donald Trump has said many things during the months leading up to his election. The reality is that, current- ly, the president-elect is talk- ing about the deportation of approximately 2 million to 4 million undocumented vio- lent criminals nationwide. Under President Obama, 2.5 million individuals were deported over a six-year period. Iunderstandthatformany, there is a real apprehension of the unknown, but I have enormous faith in the rule of law, and in the great people of Los Angeles County, a place that families from more than 200 countries call home. Jim McDonnell is the sheriff of Los Angeles County. Police must respect the rule of law always T wo years ago when I became the chief of the Fargo Police Department, I began to experience inter- actions with good people in desperate situations that really no one could have prepared me for. The situations are related to opioid addiction. The in- teractions are letters, phone calls and in-person visits in my office with people des- perate for help. The pain in those conversa- tions and letters is palpable. The interactions are with mothers and fathers who have tried everything to get their heroin addicted son or daughter the help they need. The letters or conversa- tions often are about how well their son or daughter was doing and the amazing potential they had and then somehow before their eyes it all changed. These parents went from the joy of watching their young person have incred- ible potential to be successful in the world to the devastat- ing fear of hoping their loved one would survive another day. These parents live with the fear of receiving a death notification at any moment. Addiction to an opioid is like the devil’s hand on your soul. It doesn’t want to let go and it constantly chases you. It destroys a young person’s life and it’s a living hell for family. Often opioid addiction starts with prescription pain medication; which as it be- comes more difficult or too expensive to obtain, transi- tions into heroin or fentanyl use because it’s easier to obtain and less expensive. My officers respond to opi- oid overdoses several times a week. Just think of how desperate a situation has become when as the chief of police, I have parents in my office begging me to put their son or daugh- ter in jail and somehow keep them in jail because that’s the only way they can keep them from overdosing and dying. It happens more than you think. I had a mother pleading with me to do that recently because her daughter’s ad- diction was to the point where she was injecting directly into her neck and it was just a matter of time before she was going to be dead. A prosecutor and I found a path to keep the young lady alive and get her into treatment. Hopefully she’s recovering, but she’s just one of many struggling out there. I admire and commend the area mayors for starting the Blue Ribbon Commission on Addiction. That’s local leadership at its finest. It will result in creat- ing some local strategies and paths for Prevention, Early Intervention, Treatment and Recovery. We desperately need these paths. I admire and commend Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., for providing leadership at the national level with his legislation, the 21st Century Cures Act. Sen. Hoeven’s work will provide funding to help us get local strategies imple- mented and help people seeking treatment and pro- gramming in our attempt to turn the tide on this epi- demic. And it is an epidemic. It’s killing more people in our country than car accidents and gun related violence. As a community we need to destigmatize addiction so people and their families can come out of the shadows and to get the help they need. In order to be effective, we need to look at it as a health issue and less as a criminal issue. As law enforcement we will continue to aggressively go after the sources bringing this poison into our com- munities, but we won’t solve addiction issues through law enforcement. We need to make it safe for people with addiction issues to seek health care in hope they can overcome their addiction. It’s going to take a com- munity effort to change this situation. I know this com- munity well and what it’s capable of, and that’s what gives me hope. David Todd is the chief of the Fargo North Dakota Police Dept. Sheriff’s Department personnel do not participate in determining the immigration status of any inmate in our custody. Public safety can’t do it all in public health efforts