In another example of how the left’s war on cops is handcuffing America’s law enforcement professionals, a Virginia police officer was suspended for doing his job.
The Fairfax County officer had responded to an accident scene and while running a check on one of the drivers who did not have a license, discovered that the driver was an illegal immigrant who was wanted by ICE.
Once it was determined that there was an active warrant, the dedicated civil servant contacted the ICE agent who was nearby and then held the offender through “custodial detention” until the feds arrived to make the arrest.
This did not sit well with the cultural jihadists who squealed like stuck pigs forcing police department authorities to place the officer on suspension.
Lawless Fairfax County, VA police chief suspends officer for upholding federal lawhttps://t.co/flXm7HGk4I
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) October 2, 2019
According to Washington’s WTOP News, “Fairfax Co. officer suspended after holding driver to be detained by ICE”:
Fairfax County police Chief Ed Roessler said in a statement Tuesday that the incident started with a traffic accident Sept. 21 at Harrison Lane and South Kings Highway in the Alexandria section.
When the officer responded and started to handle the accident, they found one of the drivers didn’t have a driver’s license. When the officer checked the driver’s information, it turned out that the driver was wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for failing to appear for a deportation hearing, Roessler said.
The officer contacted the ICE agent listed on the warrant, who said they were nearby. The officer then gave the driver a summons for not having a license, held the driver through a “custodial detention,” then turned them over to the ICE agent.
Roessler said that since the driver was not being taken into custody for any violation of law, they should not have been turned over to ICE.
The officer has been “relieved of all law enforcement duties pending the outcome of this investigation,” Roessler said. He added that ICE told the police department that the driver was held for three hours and released with an ankle monitor.
Roessler said in the statement that officers are taught in the academy that “we do not enforce nor detain for administrative warrants, and we have no authority to enforce federal law.”
He added, “Our county is one of the most diverse counties in the nation and no one should have the perception that FCPD is acting as a civil immigration agent for ICE. This matter damages our reputation and the longstanding policy that I have stated many times that our officers shall not act as immigration agents.”
The story drew national attention and has since become a public relations dumpster fire for the Fairfax County PD which has now announced that the wronged officer would be taken off of suspension and allowed to return to duty.
A Fairfax County, Virginia, police officer will return to full duty three days after being suspended for holding a driver at the scene of a crash so the driver could be picked up by immigration officials. https://t.co/tGaNfcMdbH
— WTOP (@WTOP) October 3, 2019
According to WTOP:
Fairfax County police Chief Edwin C. Roessler said in a statement Wednesday that after an update from internal affairs, he has concurred with the procedural recommendation to return the officer to full duty on Friday.
“We have one of the best police forces in the U.S. and I have confidence that our officer will represent us well throughout his career,” Roessler said.
While there is a somewhat happy ending to this pathetic tale of a gutless police chief too easily intimidated by the social media mob it underscores just how much damage that Democrats and their activists – including big media – have done to law enforcement with their ongoing demonization campaigns of the police.
