4/26/11
By Dave Thomas
Chief Charlie Beck of the Los Angeles Police Department has ordered a change of policy at LAPD “sobriety checkpoints,” where drivers are pulled over to be checked for intoxication.
Formerly a driver found to be unlicensed had his car impounded for 30 days, whether he was sober or drunk.
From now on only U.S. citizens and legal residents will have their cars impounded. Illegal immigrants will be spared. The chief’s logic is that citizens and residents have the choice to get a license, while “undocumented immigrants” do not, and so cannot be blamed for their transgression. The chief’s new policy met with applause from at least one quarter.
Said Mexican consul general Juan Carlos Mendoza: “We really support this initiative by Chief Beck because it’s in favor of the Latino community.” So it is, and what could be more important than that?
Surely not the principle of equal protection under the law.Source National Review online. April 18, 2011
Insanity No Tow Policy for Illegals says LAPD, American Born Public Still Under “Hook and Pay”– 2011/03/17Posted in: US News2Share
LAPD makes it easier for illegal immigrant drivers89.1 KUOR Southern California Public RadioAiding and Abeiting: LAPD's endorsement of lawlessness is yet another example of liberal policy and political correctness that puts the safety of American born citizens in jeopardy when they get behind the wheel.
Law enforcement for one group and not another should outrage any taxpayer with an inkling of sensibility.Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck announced Monday that his officers will no longer automatically tow the cars of illegal immigrant drivers stopped at sobriety checkpoints.LAPD makes it easier for illegal immigrant drivers 89.3 KPCC
The policy comes in response to the concerns of Latino civil rights activists, who say impound fees are unfairly costing otherwise hardworking illegal immigrant drivers hundreds of dollars.Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said his department impounds about 1,000 cars a year from illegal immigrants at sobriety checkpoints – not because they’re drunk but because they don’t have driver’s licenses.“
As we reviewed our impound policies it became obvious to me that they had disparate impact on individuals based on something that was entirely out of their control,” Beck said.California doesn’t issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.
Under the new policy, officers will give unlicensed illegal immigrants “reasonable time” to find someone else to drive their cars home.“No longer will these checkpoints have an adverse impact on somebody merely because of their (immigration) status,” Beck said. “The sad truth is that the people who were most impacted by this law were the people that could afford it the least.”For the Los Angeles Times article follow this link.http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/12/local/la-me-lapd-tow-20110312
