Council hears interim report, community urges stronger implementation of Special Order 40

Los Angeles City Council received an interim update on the independent Rampart panel and heard multiple public comments urging a more thorough review and clearer implementation of Special Order 40.

Joe Gunn, reporting for the commission assigned to the Rampart review, told the council the panel expects to finish its portion of the report within a month and has met with religious leaders, immigration-rights organizations, gang-prevention groups, community members and law enforcement, but that several groups contacted (including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) had not yet returned messages. Gunn said the commission will receive the panel report first and then transmit it to council staff for further action.

Norma Vega of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) said she would cooperate with the panel and help ensure communications with groups that had not responded. Victor Nanno, workers' rights project director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, told the council that day laborers and street vendors remain fearful of police questions about immigration status and criticized the panel for not meeting victims directly: "If you really want to get to the heart of the matter ... you need to talk to the individuals that have been victimized by this policy," he said. Alex Sanchez of Homesteados described a stop he says led officers to try to hand him over to immigration authorities and asked for reprimands and accountability for officers who violate the policy.

Councilmember Ruthann Goldberg said she was disappointed the report was not finished sooner but praised the interim work and urged diligence. Councilmembers, including Mike Hernandez and Richard Pacheco, pressed staff to investigate news reports alleging LAPD cooperated with Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in the Rampart Division and asked that the panel interview victims who allege they were wrongfully turned over to federal immigration authorities. Council members sought clarification about how compliance with Special Order 40 is implemented in practice — whether compliance is limited to notification at booking or whether field actions that put immigration status at issue would violate the order.

The council set a follow-up for mid-January so the completed panel report can return to the commission first and then to the council. No formal policy vote was taken; council members repeatedly emphasized the need for the final report to address allegations that LAPD-INS coordination may have led to deportations of potential witnesses and to recommend concrete implementation steps.

The panel’s pending report and scheduling of follow-up were the factual outcomes of the session; council members urged immediate outreach to organizations that had not responded to the panel and asked staff to ensure victims’ accounts are included in the final review.