SDPD to report 4 ICE-related incidents to Council

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl committed to informing the City Council about more interactions with federal immigration agents than city law currently demands.

Wahl issued a memo on Oct. 30 stating that SDPD will report incidents where officers respond to scenes with federal agents, even if those agents are not actively conducting immigration arrests. The memo came one day after Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera publicly criticized the chief for a lack of transparency.

The dispute centers on the city’s Due Process and Safety Ordinance, adopted last year to limit cooperation between SDPD and federal agents. The ordinance requires the police chief to submit written reports to the City Council within three business days whenever officers are called to a scene where federal agents are conducting immigration enforcement.

Since the ordinance took effect in May, SDPD has responded to scenes where federal agents were present but not making arrests. Wahl’s memo clarifies that these specific instances do not trigger the ordinance’s reporting requirements. However, he pledged that the department would share these details with the mayor and the City Council going forward.

“Our goal is to ensure that elected officials have timely information about SDPD's involvement and can respond to questions from their constituents with a clear understanding of its role,” Wahl said.

Elo-Rivera released a statement on Thursday detailing four specific incidents. He noted that SDPD had sent details to his office via text message, but the public had not seen that information. One incident occurred on July 23, when a vehicle from Homeland Security Investigations broke down near 2500 Fairmount Avenue. About 15 SDPD officers responded to a crowd of 30 people who were protesting. A protester broke the vehicle’s windows, and officers kept the crowd back to prevent further damage.

SDPD spokesperson Ashley Bailey said that incident did not require a report under the ordinance because the agents were with a disabled vehicle rather than conducting enforcement. Bailey stated that the department has been open to modifying how it fulfills the ordinance’s requirements. “SDPD has been open to modifying the process for how we fulfill the requirements of the ordinance,” Bailey wrote in an e-mail. “The department has provided all required notifications under the ordinance, as well as additional instances to the council that are not required.” Elo-Rivera argued that public disclosure is necessary to build trust, stating, “I don't think we can have safety without trust, and trust requires transparency.”