Police must rise to meet the moment

I have been a close observer of American policing for most of my life. During my 30-year career in law enforcement, I served as a patrol officer, detective, trainer, and from 1972 to 1993 the chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin. I've seen brutality, courage and redemption in this line of work. But I have never seen a greater police-related threat to our democracy than what we are witnessing today.

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That threat was recently made clear when the US Department of Justice issued a stern warning to California officials who suggested that state or local officers could arrest federal immigration agents who violated California law. The message claimed that their actions amounted to an “apparent criminal conspiracy.” “No one threatens our agents,” declared US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in late October. “No one will stop us from Making America Safe Again.” According to the Tribune News Service.

Let me be clear: Local police should and will cooperate in helping ICE arrest those who have committed serious crimes since coming to this country. The line is not between cooperation and resistance; it is between lawful justice and unlawful harm. The potential for a confrontation between federal authority and state sovereignty indicates a deepening crisis in how this nation balances police power and accountability.