[ad_1]
ICE officers asked the Mayor of Portland, Oregon, to give up control of the city's police department. They sent letters Wednesday asking federal and state authorities to investigate his handling of Occupy ICE protests this summer.
The Portland protests have been one of the nation's most chaotic and violent efforts against the application of immigration and customs law in the United States. They lasted for weeks and forced the city's ICE office to shut down.
The ICE National Council, the union representing ICE officers, said Mayor Ted Wheeler had fueled the clashes by expressing his support for the protesters. threatened by the demonstrations.
The ICE Council told Attorney General Jeff Sessions that Mr. Wheeler's instructions violated the civil rights of these employees, leaving them without protection that he was required to protect.
In a separate letter to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, ICE Council counsel said the mayor had violated state laws against "malpractice" by asking the the police ignore the ongoing crimes among the protesters.
"Instead of faithfully fulfilling his oath of office and pledging to support the constitutions of the United States and Oregon, as well as the laws of Portland, Mayor Wheeler has chosen to let his fellow citizens defend themselves for more than a month against a lawless mob. , which included violent militant groups, "said Chris Crane, president of the national union.
The ICE Council said that Mr. Wheeler's police management had been corrupted and urged him to give up all control at the moment.
"We hope that Mr. Wheeler relinquishes his supervisory authority from the Portland Police Office pending the outcome of your investigation," said Sean J. Riddell, the union's lawyer, in a letter to the Attorney General .
A copy has been provided to the mayor.
He responded to Twitter by calling himself a political martyr. "Do not make mistakes, they are suing me because I am a fierce opponent of the government's policy of separating children from their parents," he tweeted.
He added that previous claims of the Council of ICE "have collapsed as a result of extensive investigations and that these claims, if they are the subject of an investigation, will be also".
Kristina Edmunson, Director of Communications for the Attorney General of Oregon, said she received and reviewed the letter.
She did not answer questions about what such an investigation might look like.
The texts and emails obtained by the ICE Council detailed Mr. Wheeler's withdrawal directive to the Portland Police Office.
"This is where our office is: the Mayor will provide strategic direction to SCH. He will not dictate tactics[;] we will leave that to PPB's expertise. In this case, the strategic orientation of the mayor is that SCH does not get involved unless lives are in danger, "reads a text obtained by the agents of the ICE.
A follow-up e-mail showed that the police had concluded that she should not "proactively patrol" the protest and respond only to calls "raising immediate concern for safety in life". This meant ignoring calls from ICE employees who were trying to get their car out of protesters blocked by protesters unless they felt specifically threatened, the e-mail says.
The ICE Council says that this goes beyond the limits of official misconduct.
"If a basic police officer were to be charged with a crime for 30 days without taking the appropriate action, he would be put on administrative leave and be the subject of an internal investigation," Riddell wrote.
Mr. Crane stated that he had tried to solve the problem with Mr. Wheeler directly during the summer, when his lawyer had sent a letter of cessation and abstention to the mayor.
In a July 31 response, Mr. Wheeler disputed the version of the events given by the officers of the ICE.
He denied the existence of a policy of refusing to answer calls from ICE employees, although he stated that it was incumbent upon the federal government to control its own property in the city.
Mr. Wheeler stated that he did not want his officers "to be engaged or dragged into a conflict to secure a federal property housing a federal agency with their own federal police force."
The Washington Times Comment Policy
The Washington Times appreciates your feedback on Spot.im, our third-party provider. Please read our comments policy before commenting.
[ad_2]
Source link
