PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s police chief is ordering a review following an ICE arrest outside of the Zone 3 police station.
In a statement to Channel 11, Pittsburgh police chief Jason Lando confirmed ICE agents struggled with a suspect outside the gas station across the street from that department on March 12.
Chief Lando says his officers did not intervene, and they were not given an order to stand by.
The police chief addressed the arrest during a press conference late last week.
“There was a struggle. The officers just happened to be walking either into or out of the station at the time and saw the struggle taking place. My understanding is that they did not intervene,” Lando said last week.
On Tuesday, Lando shared information with Channel 11, saying that he is calling on the Zone 3 commander to conduct an administrative review of the incident. Just to ensure that all of the relevant information is discovered.
As the investigation into the incident continues, Lando also shared insight into what he believes the role of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is:
“The role of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is to enforce local and state laws, and I am proud of how our officers do that job every day. Our job is not, and has never been, to conduct immigration enforcement. In fact, in my 26 years as a cop, I have never once asked someone their immigration status. This is not new and it is certainly not exclusive to the PBP. Most municipal police agencies do not enforce immigration law. We do not collaborate with ICE. We do not check immigration status on calls for service. We do not participate in “roundups.” We are not briefed on ICE operations ahead of time and we often have no idea when and where ICE is operating around the City of Pittsburgh.
“However, as law enforcement, we have a duty and an obligation to respond to ANY emergency situation when requested. This includes emergency calls for assistance from other law enforcement agencies. When we receive a call for help, we do not ask WHO needs help. We simply go and assess the situation once we arrive at the scene. To refuse to help in an emergency would create both a legal and ethical dilemma for our police officers. Specifically, as it relates to assisting ICE, PBP officers have been instructed to respond to emergency calls for back-up, assist in rendering the scene safe, then return to service.
“As Chief, I have an obligation to ensure that nobody fears calling police for help. If community members won’t call 911 in an emergency because they are worried that our first concern is a family member’s immigration status, then we have failed at protecting & serving. Similarly, if we refuse to respond to emergency calls for assistance from another law enforcement agency, we have also failed at doing our jobs.”
Lando said he had spoken with the ICE supervisor about the incident.
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