Long before an illegal immigrant was charged with murdering a star high school athlete named Jamiel Shaw II earlier this year, Los Angeles resident Harold Sturgeon had filed a lawsuit aimed at repealing LAPD’s Special Order 40. Today, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge threw out the lawsuit.
Special Order 40 took effect in 1979 and, among other things, says “officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person.”
Sturgeon, who filed his lawsuit in 2006, contended that Special Order 40 conflicted with state and federal laws.
The debate surrounding Special Order 40 intensified this past March after Shaw was shot and killed. Turned out the suspect, 19-year-old Pedro Espinoza, was an illegal immigrant. And Espinoza had been released from jail just 28-hours prior to Shaw’s murder.
Beyond90Seconds.com has followed the Jamiel Shaw II story from the beginning. You can read all of the articles that have appeared on this blog by clicking here (the most recent stories will appear at top of page. Please scroll down to read earlier stories).
At the following links, you can read more about a judge’s decision Wednesday to throw-out the lawsuit that had challenged Special Order 40:
“Judge throws out lawsuit challenging Special Order 40” –LA Times
“Judge Rejects Bid to Let Police Check Immigration Status” –NY Times
“Lawsuit Dismissed in LAPD Immigration Status Questions Case” -KNBC (includes video)