MISSOULA — Missoula leadership addressed the shooting that occurred on Saturday in Minneapolis, providing information on the city's stance Monday night.
“The Missoula Police Department does not have a role in immigration status and the city's police authority is in enforcement of city and state laws,” Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said.
Before a regular Missoula City Council meeting Monday night, Davis addressed local concerns of what’s become a national issue.
“Missoula police officers do not ask immigration status when interacting with the public, for instance, during traffic stops. And as always, the Missoula Police Department prioritizes public safety for all of our residents and our visitors,” Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said.
In addition to clarifying city police’s role in immigration enforcement, Davis added that she’s worked with the police department, sheriff’s office and community groups like Soft Landing to address residents’ concerns. And according to Davis, city officials also listened to experts and community members who were worried.
“We did take direction from these experts that we met with and it was really for us to not draw unnecessary attention to where there was not really an issue happening in Missoula. And so we were able to build trust amongst one another, and there is no known to this day and there hasn't been known ICE activity in Missoula,” Davis said.
Missoula Police Chief Michael Colyer says his officers are required to follow strict identification protocols that federal agents don’t always use.
“People see federal agents, presumably federal agents, jumping out of unmarked vehicles wearing uniforms or equipment that does not identify them as an agency, does not identify them as any person by name and then furthermore has their identity covered or some kind of face covering or mask. All of those things are prohibited by the municipal police department,” said Colyer.
The Missoula County Commissioners and Missoula County Sheriff's Office also provided a statement addressing their involvement with immigration enforcement.
They stated, quote, “We recognize there is a great deal of community concern and interest around immigration issues. Our goal is to keep our community safe above anything else.
At this time, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office is not aware of or been informed of the presence of immigration agents in our community. The County Commissioners and the Sheriff work in close coordination will all of our community partners and Missoula County has good relationships with federal entities like the DEA and FBI for violent crime task forces. The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office only investigates, and the Detention Center only holds people accused of actual crimes and will continue to hold to that standard.”
