SDPD Chief to Report All ICE-Linked Incidents to Council

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl pledged on Thursday to provide the City Council with frequent reports on every scene where officers are called to locations with federal immigration agents.

The commitment appears in a memo issued on Oct. 30. That date was one day after Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera publicly criticized Wahl for a lack of transparency regarding the department's interactions with federal agents.

The dispute centers on the interpretation of the city's Due Process and Safety Ordinance, which was adopted last year to limit cooperation between the police and federal agents during President Trump's immigration crackdown.

The ordinance mandates written reports to the City Council within three business days whenever SDPD officers are called to a scene where federal agents are actively conducting immigration enforcement. Since the rule took effect in May, officers have responded to incidents where federal agents were present but were not making arrests.

Wahl's memo states that while these non-enforcement incidents are not covered by the ordinance, the department will report them to the mayor and City Council going forward. Wahl stated that the goal is to ensure elected officials have timely information so they can answer constituent questions with a clear understanding of the police role.

Elo-Rivera released a statement on Thursday detailing four specific incidents. He noted that SDPD reported the information to his office via text message, but the details had not been shared with the public. The first incident occurred on July 23 and involved a broken-down vehicle from Homeland Security Investigations near 2500 Fairmount Avenue.

According to the press release, public members gathered to protest after someone in the crowd broke the vehicle's windows. Approximately 15 SDPD officers responded to a crowd of about 30 people, allowing the protest to continue while keeping the crowd away from the vehicle. SDPD spokesperson Ashley Bailey said the incident did not trigger the ordinance because the agents were with a disabled vehicle rather than conducting enforcement. Bailey added that the department has notified councilmembers of such incidents and made communications available upon request.

Elo-Rivera argued that the public often assumes police and federal agents are working together whenever they see them at the same scene. He stated that promptly sharing details with the public, not just the Council, helps dispel misinformation and build trust. "I don't think we can have safety without trust, and trust requires transparency," Elo-Rivera said. He noted that the public has not received communication about the circumstances of SDPD appearances, the actions taken, or the duration of presence at those scenes.