Ventura County law enforcement puts great emphasis on maintaining the trust and respect of the residents we serve. We accomplish this through constitutional policing, extensive training, proper supervision, accountability measures and a willingness to change.
Federal agents conducting immigration enforcement must do the same. Here are a few ways how:
• Wear and activate body worn cameras. These cameras provide critical evidence for investigations and prosecutions, help to decrease citizen complaints and civil lawsuits, and provide transparency for an officers’ actions. They have long been the norm in Ventura County and benefit everyone.
• Obtain judicial warrants before entering homes. Judges signing off on warrants protect against unreasonable searches and seizures and, with some very limited exceptions, is the law. The U.S. Constitution applies to all of us.
• End roving patrols. They don’t work. Inherently volatile, enormously costly (financially and otherwise) and indiscriminate by design, they don’t accomplish what we want, which is the apprehension and removal of violent criminals.
• Stop the paramilitary tactics. The gear, masks, unmarked cars and confrontational approach undermine trust and lead to unnecessary escalations.
• Keep witnesses in Ventura County and deport convicted criminals after they serve their sentence. Accountability means serving the sentence imposed and justice requires victims being available to testify.
• Notify local law enforcement before entering Ventura County. Known as deconfliction, this was once common practice when federal officers came here. A simple heads up avoids confusion and “blue-on-blue” conflict.
• Conduct independent investigations. The public wants neutral and impartial fact finders to lead officer-involved shooting investigations. If the agency is perceived as bias, the investigation suffers and the outcome will always be suspect.
• Apply Graham v. Connor. The U.S. Supreme Court decision has long been the legal lens for use-of-force cases in Ventura County and elsewhere. The severity of the crime, whether the suspect posed an immediate threat to the officer or others and the level of resistance and type of evasion are specific factors to determine if law enforcement acted reasonably.
• Follow court orders. All individuals regardless of immigration status share in the right to have access to a lawyer under the Fifth Amendment. Federal judges have so ordered and immigration officials are required to comply.
Federal immigration agents must employ the same legal standards and lessons learned by our local law enforcement over the decades, otherwise they will continue to lose the trust, credibility and confidence of the very people they are here to serve. Ventura County law enforcement has worked incredibly hard to build and maintain this trust with its judges, juries and the public. We don’t want the actions of certain federal immigration agents to further erode the reputation and character of our noble profession.
Erik Nasarenko is the Ventura County District Attorney.