Post by KC on Nov 28, 2006 0:43:43 GMT -5
NEW YORK: An internal affairs investigation into the complicity of Edison police with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the arrest of an Indian man on August 2, has found two Edison police officers guilty of wrongdoing.
Ironically though, the police officers are to be let off with mere counseling.
In an emailed joint statement, Edison Mayor Jun Choi and Edison Police Chief George Mieczkowski, say that the investigation and subsequent arrest of Rajnikant Parikh was initiated by an ICE employee and that information was passed between the ICE employee and a member of the Edison Police Department.
The statement further notes that the pre-arrest information was shared with another Edison Officer. “Neither of the Edison Officers have supervisory responsibility. The information was not shared with Command Level Officers. Had the Department known, our local agency would have requested the arrest take place in a different and appropriate manner,” the statement reads.
Mayor Choi and the Police Chief concede that the internal investigation determined that while the arrest of Parikh served a legitimate law enforcement purpose, the timing and the environment of the arrest was inappropriate.
Parikh was arrested from a rally outside the Edison Mayor’s office on August 2 where he was protesting against his illegal arrest and brutal assault by a police officer on July 4 outside his residential complex at Hilltop Apartments on Oak Tree Road.
The protest rally was organized by Pradip ‘Peter’ Kothari, a travel agency owner and community leader, along with about a 100 other members of the community. Mid-rally, federal agents belonging to the ICE arrested Parikh allegedly on pending deportation proceedings against him on grounds that he was an illegal alien.
Mayor Choi and the Police Chief, who maintained ever since that they had no knowledge of the federal action, had instituted an internal investigation to determine as to who in the police department, had leaked information to the ICE officer regarding Parikh.
A statement on the completed report of the Edison Police Department internal affairs investigation was released to the media on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
It said the Edison Police Department internal affairs investigation inquiring into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) coordination with local police before an August 2 arrest has been completed.
The joint statement says the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the state Office of the Attorney General have reviewed the investigation and concluded that it is a complete and an accurate recitation of all facts leading up to and including the arrest.
Terming it “an unfortunate incident”, the statement says, the Mayor’s Office and Police Department have established various community relations initiatives, including: liaison officers, the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Community Relations, mandatory cultural sensitivity training for all sworn officers and other community outreach programs.
Further it says, measures have been taken to avoid such incidents happening again. “This incident is a singular event in the history of the Edison Police Department and not the normal course of business. Previous to this incident there was an absence of procedures regarding interactions with other law enforcement agencies. The commitment now is to ensure an incident like this will not occur in the future.”
www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=5854
Ironically though, the police officers are to be let off with mere counseling.
In an emailed joint statement, Edison Mayor Jun Choi and Edison Police Chief George Mieczkowski, say that the investigation and subsequent arrest of Rajnikant Parikh was initiated by an ICE employee and that information was passed between the ICE employee and a member of the Edison Police Department.
The statement further notes that the pre-arrest information was shared with another Edison Officer. “Neither of the Edison Officers have supervisory responsibility. The information was not shared with Command Level Officers. Had the Department known, our local agency would have requested the arrest take place in a different and appropriate manner,” the statement reads.
Mayor Choi and the Police Chief concede that the internal investigation determined that while the arrest of Parikh served a legitimate law enforcement purpose, the timing and the environment of the arrest was inappropriate.
Parikh was arrested from a rally outside the Edison Mayor’s office on August 2 where he was protesting against his illegal arrest and brutal assault by a police officer on July 4 outside his residential complex at Hilltop Apartments on Oak Tree Road.
The protest rally was organized by Pradip ‘Peter’ Kothari, a travel agency owner and community leader, along with about a 100 other members of the community. Mid-rally, federal agents belonging to the ICE arrested Parikh allegedly on pending deportation proceedings against him on grounds that he was an illegal alien.
Mayor Choi and the Police Chief, who maintained ever since that they had no knowledge of the federal action, had instituted an internal investigation to determine as to who in the police department, had leaked information to the ICE officer regarding Parikh.
A statement on the completed report of the Edison Police Department internal affairs investigation was released to the media on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
It said the Edison Police Department internal affairs investigation inquiring into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) coordination with local police before an August 2 arrest has been completed.
The joint statement says the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the state Office of the Attorney General have reviewed the investigation and concluded that it is a complete and an accurate recitation of all facts leading up to and including the arrest.
Terming it “an unfortunate incident”, the statement says, the Mayor’s Office and Police Department have established various community relations initiatives, including: liaison officers, the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Community Relations, mandatory cultural sensitivity training for all sworn officers and other community outreach programs.
Further it says, measures have been taken to avoid such incidents happening again. “This incident is a singular event in the history of the Edison Police Department and not the normal course of business. Previous to this incident there was an absence of procedures regarding interactions with other law enforcement agencies. The commitment now is to ensure an incident like this will not occur in the future.”
www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=5854