ICE Vote of No Confidence

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)National Council 118 (AFL-CIO) acting on behalf of approx. 7000 officers and employees from the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), cast a unanimous "Vote of No Confidence in the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Morton, and the Assistant Director of ICE Office of Detention and Policy and Planning (ODPP), Phyllis Coven.  Union officials claim that the American public has been misled by agency administrators with regard to the effectiveness of criminal enforcement programs, pushing for amnesty for political reasons as well as numerous other reasons which led to the vote.

CLICK HERE to read the entire document citing the various reasons for the vote of no confidence.

Judicial Watch sues for Public Records

On august 4, 2010, Judicial Watch filed documents in the Superior Court of Arizona suing the City of Phoenix for violation of Arizona Public Records Law as a result of the Police Department's failure to provide access to records and communications concerning the Harris declaration.  The City of Phoenix has ignored several requests from Judicial Watch regarding who gave Chief Jack Harris permission to attach his declaration as exhibit 10 to the motion for a preliminary injunction in the case of United States of America v. The State of Arizona.

CLICK HERE to read the complaint.

Elections are Here

Early ballots are out and elections are in progress for a variety of political offices in the State and County.  PLEA encourages all officers to vote and to encourage their friends and families to vote also.

CLICK HERE to see a listing of candidates that PLEA has endorsed.

Will City Pay Harris' Legal Bills?

PLEA has posted web and RECAP articles over the past two years on the controversy over Chief Jack Harris serving in the same position that he retired from while drawing a salary and pension benifits in what appears to be a violation of state pension laws.  A group of current and retired officers along with citizens are partnering with Judicial Watch in suing Harris along with the local Phoenix Police Pension Board over the issue.  In these drastic economic times when City is faced with a quarter of a billion dollar deficit, City employees across the board were forced to take pay and benefit cuts to avoid layoffs.  On top of this, a 2%  food tax was levied against the citizens of Phoenix to generate additional revenue to asist with the budget crisis.

In the context of a distressed police pension system designed for front line public safety servants, this decison clearly appears inappropriate.  Considering the refusal of the City of Phoenix to allow professional police officers access to personally purchased rifles, protective summer headgear, and common sense police placard identifiers, one questions the City's priorities of approving payement for Jack Harris' personal retirement decisions.

It appears that the City Council may now approve payment to cover the legal defense fees of a police manager. This raises the question; How much more of a financial burden are the taxpayers of Phoenix expected to bear?