The other badge: Sacramento’s next police chief may differ with the sheriff on immigration

An estimated 57,000 undocumented people in Sacramento County live under the protection of a sheriff who’s declared that the region—under his authority—offers no sanctuary for their families.

And Sheriff Scott Jones has backed up his sentiments with policies and actions. For years he’s rented the county jail out as a holding facility for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite allegations its detainees were held in squalid, dangerous conditions.

In 2014, he appeared in a YouTube video that attempted to link the murders of two deputies to President Barack Obama’s centrist approach to immigration. Last year, Jones promised “zero tolerance” for undocumented residents during his failed bid for Congress, and his deputies continue to “passively” cooperate with federal agents to this day.

As the Sacramento City Council prepares to hire a new police chief, some members aren’t hiding the fact that they’re looking for a very different mindset in the person who’ll be the other law enforcement leader around the capital.

“Among a number of significant issues, this is an important one for the next chief,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said of the dismay and anxiety spreading through Sacramento’s neighborhoods because of the threat of deportation. “We are a proud safe haven for immigrant families, dreamers and kids. And we expect anyone with a high position of responsibility in this city to hold those values dear.”

Last month, Steinberg and the council voted to create a $300,000 legal defense fund for local immigrant families at risk of being apprehended by ICE. In an interview with SN&R this week, the mayor said the fund is not to protect those who have committed serious crimes, but rather the thousands of hardworking, law-abiding members of the community.

In April, SN&R analyzed court records for 52 undocumented immigrants who had been held, facing deportation, in the Sacramento sheriff’s ICE-contracted facility, determining that 67 percent of them had committed nonserious offenses or no crime at all.

For Sacramento District 6 Councilman Eric Guerra, recruiting a police chief who can connect with the city’s undocumented immigrants is more than a matter of principle—it’s a matter of public safety. Guerra said it’s difficult for detectives to solve violent crimes when potential witnesses feel dread at the sight of a badge.

Guerra pointed out that last summer, in his view, Sacramento police did an excellent job of solving a rash of brutal home invasions on the south side of the city, partly by reaching out to the Hmong and Vietnamese communities for information. He argued investigators need that same ability to get assistance from all neighborhoods where immigrants live.

“Communities who feel they have trust will help our police officers with good reporting, which in turn will help the department with good detective work,” Guerra stressed.

Of more than 30 applicants being reviewed by Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan, two are known quantities: Interim Police Chief Brian Louie and Deputy Chief Ken Bernard. In January, District 3 Councilman Jeff Harris told SN&R that Louie’s philosophy on community policing might build bridges the department badly needs in any neighborhood where there’s skepticism of officers.

“There is some perception of a distance between our police and our citizens,” Harris acknowledged. “I’m not the only one on the council who’s interested in steering back toward having problem-oriented policing officers who get to know their neighborhoods. … Right now, Interim Chief Brian Louie really fits the bill in many regards.”

Council members also have discussed Roseville Police Chief Daniel Hahn as a possibility. Although Hahn is tight-lipped about whether he’s applied for the job, he does have a reputation for building relationships with Roseville’s Latino and Spanish-speaking neighborhoods.

Hahn has hosted numerous community events in a pocket of that city called Theiles Manor, where many Latino families live. It was the site of a jarring shootout between his officers and a Sureño gang member in 2013. Hahn has also encouraged one of his Spanish-speaking officers to host support-and-awareness forums for parents in Roseville who don’t speak English.

In past conversations with SN&R, District 1 Councilwoman Angelique Ashby has had high praise for the way Hahn handled himself when he was a Sacramento police captain. Although Ashby recently declined to say which candidate she favors, she echoed her colleagues in emphasizing that Sacramento needs a chief who has the confidence of every group.

Describing exactly where Sacramento falls into the national immigration scene is what Jones claimed he was trying to do when he stood alongside ICE Director Thomas Homan at a forum in March that descended into shouting and emotional chaos. Sacramento’s mayor was on hand and witnessed exactly the kind of messaging and approach he would not want to see from his next police chief.

“Whatever the sheriff’s intention was that day,” Steinberg reflected, “I think it caused a significant amount of fear.”