The controversial new law took effect in California on Jan. 1, 2023.
While the new LAPD policy could take weeks or months to be finalized, many questions have arisen around the legalities of the new state law and its ability to override federal law. Under the new law, DACA police officers who are not legal citizens have the ability to detain and arrest U.S. citizens.
- If a non-citizen DACA cop shoots a U.S. citizen off-duty, will the LAPD defend them in a civil rights lawsuit?
- Will the officers have qualified immunity based on being LAPD officers?
- How will LAPD defend the department when they are sued for a DACA officer-involved shooting when the only reason a DACA officer had a gun off-duty was through LAPD policy, not via federal approval?
“It’s clearly a political move in order to make some statement that they are hiring DACA kids to be police officers. Because realistically, they maybe have 30 applicants. The reality is that’s nothing with regards to recruitment. It’s purely a political move,” said retired LAPD Background Investigator Ken Roybal. “It’s just a liberal move on their part to make it look like they are hiring the people that their voters want.”
LAPD sworn personnel has fallen under 9,000—hundreds of officers short of the 10,000 needed to properly service their jurisdiction.
According to Fox, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has six DACA recipients who have recently graduated and nine in training. However, it’s unclear whether the department has changed their policy to allow the DACA officers to be in possession of their weapons while they are off duty.
A Sheriff’s Department source, who requested anonymity, said, “How can those who are not citizens of this country be sworn to uphold the United States Constitution and the California Constitution? At a minimum, shouldn’t we insist they become Naturalized Citizens? At least then, we would know they would be fully committed to upholding the laws of the country and state. I guess that’s too much to ask for.”