Police now enforcing Arizona's SB 1070 "Papers Please" law

  The good thing about this article is it that it points out that you do not need ANY ID or identification to be on the streets.

You only need a drivers license or other ID when you are doing something that requires getting permission from the government, such as driving a vehicle on a government road, or fishing in a government lake.

Phoenix Police Chief Garcia

"The only person who has to have a driver's license in a vehicle is the driver."
Phoenix Police Chief Garcia also points out that the cops can only stop people when they have "reasonable suspicion". He forgot to say that they must either have "probable cause" or "reasonable suspicion" to stop people.

Of course most cops are crooked and will stop anybody they damn feel like for any damn reason they feel like, even if they don't have "probable cause" or "reasonable suspicion".

The bad thing is the police are starting to enforce Arizona's SB 1070 "papers please" law, which Hitler would be proud of.

Source

Q&A with Phoenix Police Chief Garcia: Officers prepared to enforce SB 1070

by JJ Hensley - Sept. 19, 2012 09:41 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Phoenix Police Chief Daniel V. Garcia's message has been the same since he took the department's top job in May: The city's officers will treat residents with dignity and respect while engaging in "policing with a purpose." [I bet Hitlers said that they would treat Jews with dignity and respect too!!!]

The enforcement of a controversial provision of Senate Bill 1070 will not change that, Garcia said, noting that officers will still need reasonable suspicion to contact someone -- and even more reasonable suspicion to contact federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents regarding the status of someone they have detained.

That suspicion cannot be built on language or ethnicity alone, Garcia said. But those may be among a number of factors outlined in training offered to police throughout the state or in Garcia's department.

Question: What changes will enforcement of this provision of SB 1070 bring?

Answer: The Phoenix Police Department has been preparing for this since July 2010. We've prepared for this for a long, long time. I don't think you're going to see mass arrests or anything like that in the city of Phoenix. The fact is we're still going to treat people with dignity and respect.

Q: What is out there that would prevent an officer from overstepping the line?

A: Reasonable suspicion is the key on both categories (contacting suspects and contacting ICE). I break it up into two categories because the first thing you have to have is reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred -- a "Part One" offense. In other words, burglary, robbery, theft, something in that category, or a violation of traffic code. You have to have that before you get to reasonable suspicion whether someone is here illegally or not, and I think people tend to forget that. They kind of brush it off, as if we're going to go straight to asking people about whether they're here (legally) or not, and that's not true.

Q: How could one of those traffic stops unfold?

A: You have to have reasonable suspicion in relation that a crime has occurred -- state law, county law, city law, federal law for that matter. We make a traffic stop, the individual does not have presumptive ID, a good driver's license, anything that signifies that he's documented and in our country (legally). At that point, if we have reasonable suspicion now -- based on other categories as well as facts and circumstances that lead us to believe that this individual is not here legally -- then, at that point we can address the other aspect of reasonable suspicion that they're here undocumented. At that point, we have an obligation to contact ICE and determine whether they're documented or not. Let me be clear about this: There's a big question as to how long we can detain somebody. To me, it's no longer than you would on a traffic stop on any other case. We'll make an attempt to contact ICE, and if we're successful, they'll give us the information we need. If not, we'll let the individual go. If we don't get an answer from ICE, we have no obligation but to let them go, or, in fact, if we contact ICE and they're not here illegally, then of course we're going to let them go. We are going to enforce the law, but we're going to do it with dignity and respect, and we're going to do it within the parameters of the law.

Q: What assurances can you offer to people out there who are afraid?

A: If you don't have a drivers license, don't drive. We're going to treat everybody with dignity and respect. We're going to follow our policing principles in relation to ensuring that we're policing with a purpose: Reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred, reasonable suspicion that will lead us to someone (who) is here illegally.

Q: What about officers who want ID from passengers during traffic stops?

A: The only person who has to have a driver's license in a vehicle is the driver. That doesn't prevent an officer from having a conversation with other people in the car. That does not prohibit us from doing that. But again, those other individuals do not have to have any kind of identification on them whatsoever. As far as I'm concerned, he can't at that point -- he has no reasonable suspicion.

Q: What instruction or policy if any is there on officers asking passengers for identification and using that to develop reasonable suspicion that they are in the country illegally?

A: An officer has a responsibility first and foremost with a driver of the vehicle. They either have a license or they don't. Based on reasonable suspicion of a crime, you're going to make your stop.

The second thing is, you're going to have to have reasonable suspicion that this person is here illegally. That's all pertaining to the driver. There's nothing that prohibits a police officer from having a conversation with the other occupants of the car, and I'm just talking a general conversation. I'm not talking about an investigative process. Now, as far as pushing that and taking it to another level in relations to a process of investigating someone being here undocumented, no, I don't support that.

Q: The law seems to allow for an officer who feels strongly about this law and is zealous about enforcement to ask everyone for ID and develop reasonable suspicion from there.

A: If an officer makes a determination that the driver is here and is undocumented, that opens the door for the other people in the vehicle, as well. There is a process where we have a lot of people transporting illegal aliens. That would open that. If the driver is here legally, then I don't think you have a position to ask anyone anything else.

Q: You mentioned traffic enforcement. We've seen other agencies target areas where day laborers gather as a traffic-enforcement issue. Do you anticipate that?

A: In relation to that type of activity, I believe very strongly that, right now, anytime you make that kind of a traffic stop, you're not going to be dealing most of the time with someone who is undocumented. You're going to be dealing with someone who is trying to get day labor. The driver of that vehicle is probably going to have identification.

Q: What is the reaction from ICE these days?

A: Sometimes, we get a response, and sometimes, we're not able to make contact with them. I can't be held responsible for ICE's actions or inaction.

Q: What instructions have you given officers on situations where there's no state law violation and ICE won't respond?

A: If ICE refuses to respond, then they're free to let go whoever they stop.

Q: On stop length ... do you expect to have a way to gauge that? Are you looking at a way to see if there are officers who are excessively stopping people?

A: All our traffic stops have a start time and end time. It's the officer coming on the air designating a traffic stop, and we'll review those stops, as well.

Q: Do you anticipate doing more of those reviews?

A: We're always looking at it as part of our management and supervision of our officers.

 

Papers Please