PWC Starts Checking ALL Arrestees For Immigration Violations; Police Chief Punts On Cameras

Starting July 1, ANYONE arrested in PWC will have their immigration status checked, not just those for whom police have “probable cause” as the standard had been.  In addition, anyone stopped by PWC police can have their immigration status questioned if police have a reasonable suspicion to do so (such as being provided a false ID.)

I found Police Chief “Good Time” Charlie Deane’s about-face on the issue of cameras in police cars mentioned in the same article troubling, though:

“There are benefits to cameras aside from the issue of immigration,” Deane said. “But the issue of immigration and the potential for, of course this was a very high profile policy, the potential for allegations against our officers are very high, so that’s what put me over and help me make a decision to recommend cameras.

“Now that that risk has been mitigated, the urgency of getting cameras is not on the forefront for me.”

PWC police officers should have been equipped with cameras in their police cars YEARS AGO.  Smaller jurisdictions with much smaller budgets have managed to place cameras in the vehicles of their police officers.  Why this wasn’t done when a new fleet of PWC police vehicles was ordered and the expense of installation could have been mitigated, I don’t know.

This is a matter of protecting our police officers’ physical safety and security.  This is a matter of collecting physical evidence to help prosecutors secure convictions.  How many times have we seen on the news footage from a police car camera where an officer was injured by someone they pulled over or struck by a passing vehicle and that footage helped bring someone to justice?  I’m not talking about turning over the surveillance video to be shown on an episode of “COPS” here.  Our police deserve the very best and why Chief Deane only seems to think they need cameras in relation to immigration policy is downright puzzling to me.  I hope that PWC Chairman Corey Stewart is continuing to try and secure federal funding to get cameras for the county police even if this is no longer a priority for Chief Deane.