Pittsburgh Police Chief Jason Lando is clarifying his department’s role with ICE operations throughout the city.
KDKA Radio’s Colin Dunlap says ICE was taking in an illegal immigrant outside the Zone 3 station, when the suspect began to fight and kick the officer.
A Pittsburgh Police Officer tells Dunlap they were told to stand down.
Chief Lando issued a statement to Dunlap explaining his department’s role.
Lando says immigration enforcement is not the job of Pittsburgh Police, but whenever there is an emergency call for assistance, they step in.
Lando says he isn't aware of any stand down orders being given during the incident outside Zone 3.
Read Lando’s full statement below:
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 simple 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.
To that end, I was recently made aware of an incident that occurred in front of the Zone 3 police station where ICE agents were struggling to take someone into custody. I had the chance to speak with the ICE supervisor and learned that this incident had nothing to do with Zone 3 itself. Rather, it just so happened that agents stopped the vehicle in question at the gas station across the street. It has been alleged by some individuals that Pittsburgh Police officers were ordered not to intervene and were forced to stand by and watch.
While our officers did not intervene in this particular situation, I am not aware of any order given that forbid them from doing so.
To ensure I have all of the relevant information pertaining to this incident, I have asked the Zone 3 commander to conduct an administrative review and report those findings to the Office of the Chief.