trust to be effective. “What I am seeing today in America, unfortunately, is an erosion of that trust of law enforcement, and it’s largely because of what’s happening. Not the fact that we’re having immigration enforcement, but how immigration enforcement is occurring in cities.” Dyer objected to how ICE agents are operating in cities: everyday use of tactical gear, their tactics and their lack of coordination with local law enforcement. He also objected to the federal government not seeking permission from local jurisdictions to deploy the National Guard or military troops. “Because at the end of the day,” he said,“it’s local law enforcement and it’s the mayors that have to deal with what has occurred in that city.” been avoided. He said he met with Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) to voice his concerns and suggest there was a better way for ICE to achieve its goals than raiding a restaurant on a busy weekend night. Fresno, California, Mayor Jerry Dyer, who served for 40 years in the Fresno Police Department — the last 18 as the police chief — said that “for police officers to be effective within the cities in which they police and the neighborhoods in which they police, they must be seen as a welcome presence. They cannot be seen as an occupying force.” “Unfortunately, what we are seeing today in many cities across America, including LA, is an occupying force,” he said. Dyer said police officers must have the community’s 12 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 07
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