Los Angeles police officers must turn on their body cameras at the scene of federal immigration enforcement operations and preserve the footage, according to an executive directive issued by Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday.
Since June, federal immigration raids have disrupted neighborhoods and communities across Los Angeles and around the nation, including at work sites, along neighborhood streets and in commercial areas.
Often, police officers have responded to the scene to try to keep order amid tensions between immigration agents and community members.
“The point that we’re trying to make here is that ICE enforcement is not welcome here,” Bass said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “We have resisted against it since this terror started, and we will continue to do that.”
In addition to recording the federal immigration agents’ actions, LAPD officers must document the name and badge number of the agents’ on-scene supervisor, summon emergency personnel if someone at a scene is injured and take reports from the public about federal agents’ alleged misconduct, Bass’ five-page directive states.
The directive also prohibits federal immigration agents from using city property and imposes a fee on owners who allow federal agents to use private property.
The effort builds on a previous Bass directive that aimed to restrict the city from assisting federal immigration agents. The LAPD has a long-standing policy that its officers should not be involved in immigration enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bass noted that officers are supposed to turn on their body cameras anyway, including when they’re responding to a call from the public or when another law enforcement agency asks for assistance.
“We’re saying we really want you to do that, even if you are there and there’s not a disturbance that breaks out, if you’re there on the scene,” Bass said.
The LAPD did not immediately provide comment. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, did not respond to a request for comment.
In Chicago, the mayor issued a similar directive in January, instructing the Police Department to “investigate and document” alleged illegal activity by federal agents, said Tania Unzueta, political director of Mijente, a national group that organizes within Latino and Chicano communities.
“ICE’s power must be challenged at every level, and local governments have a critical role to play in holding the line against federal enforcement,” Unzueta said.
But in Los Angeles, immigrant rights advocates expressed concerns about requiring the LAPD to police another agency.
Maegan Ortiz, executive director of the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, or IDEPSCA, cited the LAPD’s history of using excessive force against civilians and said that in the recent immigration raids, officers have sometimes inflamed instead of defused tensions.
“Are they really the best people to determine what is excessive use of force, given the literal millions of dollars that we’re seeing paid out in settlement because of use of force by LAPD?” Ortiz said. “Can we trust this police department to police others when they can’t police themselves?”
James “Jim” Willis, a former LAPD detective who later worked for the L.A. Police Commission’s inspector general’s office, said he agreed with the directive’s intent: to bring greater accountability to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. But he has questions about how it would work in practice.
For one thing, he said, it’s unclear whether LAPD officers are supposed to respond whenever an ICE operation is underway. Doing so would put further strain on a department that is down hundreds of officers from a few years ago, he said.
It’s also unclear what will happen with the recorded footage.
“Who’s going to audit this?” he asked. “Do you now create a new group, a new division and new section?”
Since rolling out the tiny recording devices in 2015, the city has spent millions of dollars, both on the body cameras themselves and data storage for the digital files. LAPD officials have conceded that the vast majority of the footage gathered by officers goes unwatched, since there isn’t enough manpower to review it.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Jocelyn Duarte, executive director of the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund, praised Bass’ directive and called on the Los Angeles Board of Commissioners, which provides civilian oversight of the LAPD, to ensure that officers “protect Angelenos from lawless federal conduct.”
“Local law enforcement must not be complicit through silence or inaction when federal agents overstep legal and ethical boundaries,” Duarte said. “Now it is imperative that our commission and LAPD fully implement this directive and make it clear that our city will not allow for fear-based enforcement to define life in our neighborhoods.”
Ortiz said she is excited that the directive imposes fees on private property owners who allow federal immigration agents to use their property. The Institute of Popular Education of Southern California has been a leader in calling for a boycott against Home Depot, which has not taken a public stance against repeated raids at the day labor centers that the organization runs at the stores.
“I do think that something does need to be done with these huge billion-dollar corporations who are allowing this and are choosing to stay silent while their customers are being dragged away and disappeared,” Ortiz said.
LAPD to train their body cameras on immigration agents, under mayor’s directive
Los Angeles police officers must turn on their body cameras at the scene of federal immigration enforcement operations and preserve the footage, according to an executive directive issued by Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday.
Since June, federal immigration raids have disrupted neighborhoods and communities across Los Angeles and around the nation, including at work sites, along neighborhood streets and in commercial areas.
Often, police officers have responded to the scene to try to keep order amid tensions between immigration agents and community members.
“The point that we’re trying to make here is that ICE enforcement is not welcome here,” Bass said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “We have resisted against it since this terror started, and we will continue to do that.”
In addition to recording the federal immigration agents’ actions, LAPD officers must document the name and badge number of the agents’ on-scene supervisor, summon emergency personnel if someone at a scene is injured and take reports from the public about federal agents’ alleged misconduct, Bass’ five-page directive states.
The directive also prohibits federal immigration agents from using city property and imposes a fee on owners who allow federal agents to use private property.
The effort builds on a previous Bass directive that aimed to restrict the city from assisting federal immigration agents. The LAPD has a long-standing policy that its officers should not be involved in immigration enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bass noted that officers are supposed to turn on their body cameras anyway, including when they’re responding to a call from the public or when another law enforcement agency asks for assistance.
“We’re saying we really want you to do that, even if you are there and there’s not a disturbance that breaks out, if you’re there on the scene,” Bass said.
The LAPD did not immediately provide comment. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, did not respond to a request for comment.
In Chicago, the mayor issued a similar directive in January, instructing the Police Department to “investigate and document” alleged illegal activity by federal agents, said Tania Unzueta, political director of Mijente, a national group that organizes within Latino and Chicano communities.
“ICE’s power must be challenged at every level, and local governments have a critical role to play in holding the line against federal enforcement,” Unzueta said.
But in Los Angeles, immigrant rights advocates expressed concerns about requiring the LAPD to police another agency.
Maegan Ortiz, executive director of the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, or IDEPSCA, cited the LAPD’s history of using excessive force against civilians and said that in the recent immigration raids, officers have sometimes inflamed instead of defused tensions.
“Are they really the best people to determine what is excessive use of force, given the literal millions of dollars that we’re seeing paid out in settlement because of use of force by LAPD?” Ortiz said. “Can we trust this police department to police others when they can’t police themselves?”
James “Jim” Willis, a former LAPD detective who later worked for the L.A. Police Commission’s inspector general’s office, said he agreed with the directive’s intent: to bring greater accountability to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. But he has questions about how it would work in practice.
For one thing, he said, it’s unclear whether LAPD officers are supposed to respond whenever an ICE operation is underway. Doing so would put further strain on a department that is down hundreds of officers from a few years ago, he said.
It’s also unclear what will happen with the recorded footage.
“Who’s going to audit this?” he asked. “Do you now create a new group, a new division and new section?”
Since rolling out the tiny recording devices in 2015, the city has spent millions of dollars, both on the body cameras themselves and data storage for the digital files. LAPD officials have conceded that the vast majority of the footage gathered by officers goes unwatched, since there isn’t enough manpower to review it.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Jocelyn Duarte, executive director of the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund, praised Bass’ directive and called on the Los Angeles Board of Commissioners, which provides civilian oversight of the LAPD, to ensure that officers “protect Angelenos from lawless federal conduct.”
“Local law enforcement must not be complicit through silence or inaction when federal agents overstep legal and ethical boundaries,” Duarte said. “Now it is imperative that our commission and LAPD fully implement this directive and make it clear that our city will not allow for fear-based enforcement to define life in our neighborhoods.”
Ortiz said she is excited that the directive imposes fees on private property owners who allow federal immigration agents to use their property. The Institute of Popular Education of Southern California has been a leader in calling for a boycott against Home Depot, which has not taken a public stance against repeated raids at the day labor centers that the organization runs at the stores.
“I do think that something does need to be done with these huge billion-dollar corporations who are allowing this and are choosing to stay silent while their customers are being dragged away and disappeared,” Ortiz said.
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As Dee Snider quits Twisted Sister, band’s future uncertain
Twisted Sister has canceled all of its 50th anniversary performances following the departure of lead singer Dee Snider because of “a series of health challenges.”
In a statement posted Thursday on Instagram, the heavy metal band said all scheduled shows beginning April 25 in São Paulo and through the summer have been canceled “due to the sudden and unexpected resignation” of Snider. The “I Wanna Rock” singer is no longer able to perform in the way that he used to because of multiple heath issues.
“I don’t know of any other way to rock,” Snider said in a statement accompanying the band’s announcement. “The idea of slowing down is unacceptable to me. I’d rather walk away than be a shadow of my former self.”
“The future of Twisted Sister will be determined in the next several weeks,” the band’s statement read.
The separate statement regarding Snider’s health explained that a “lifetime of legendarily aggressive performing has taken its toll on Dee Snider’s body and soul.”
Also posted to the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” singer’s Instagram account, the statement said that Snider “has had several surgeries over the years” to help manage his degenerative arthritis. His condition meant he had only been able to “perform a few songs at a time in pain.”
“Adding insult to injury, Dee has recently found out the level of intensity he has dedicated to his life’s work has taken its toll on his heart as well,” the statement continued. “He can no longer push the boundaries of rock ‘n’ roll fury like he has done for decades.”
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Lil Jon’s son Nathan Smith, a.k.a. DJ Young Slade, dead at 27
The body of Lil Jon’s son Nathan Smith, who performed as DJ Young Slade and went missing Tuesday night, was recovered Friday from a pond near his home in Milton, Ga., according to local police. The rapper’s son was 27.
“I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated,” Lil Jon and his ex-wife wrote Friday on social media.
“Nathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warmhearted — he loved his family and the friends in his life to the fullest.”
They said their son was “amazingly talented” as a music producer, artist and engineer. Nathan Smith was a graduate of New York University, his parents said.
Nathan Smith, a.k.a. DJ Young Slade, performs with his father, Lil Jon, at the Hollywood Palladium in March 2014.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images )
“We loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly proud of him. He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together we’re comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him,” the parents concluded before thanking the many local authorities and rescuers who helped search for their son.
The Milton Police Department said Tuesday on social media that Nathan Smith hadn’t been seen since he “ran out of his house” at 6 a.m. that day.
“Subject left on foot and does not possess a phone. He may be disoriented and in need of assistance,” the statement said. “Family and friends are concerned for his safety.”
On Friday, Milton police said in a statement that teams had expanded the search to include the pond in a nearby park after failing to find Smith elsewhere. Divers with the Cherokee County Fire Department recovered a body from the water shortly before noon local time Friday, the statement said.
“The individual is believed to be Nathan Smith, pending official confirmation by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office,” police wrote, adding there was no indication of foul play. However, the official cause and manner of death were still to be determined.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the Smith family during this difficult time. The department respectfully asks the community and members of the media to honor the family’s request for privacy as they grieve and navigate this tragedy,” the statement concluded.
Lil Jon and Nicole Smith expressed gratitude in their post confirming their son’s death. The two married in 2004 after welcoming Nathan in 1998 but split up amicably in 2022.
“Thank you for all of the prayers and support in trying to locate him over the last several days,” they wrote Friday.
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