6 March 28 - april 3, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Not My Job, Man Fort Worth and Dallas police forces take different approaches to anti-immigrant Senate Bill 4. BY KELLY DEARMORE T he life span of controversial Senate Bill 4 has been tumul- tuous. Although signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in De- cember, so far, the bill’s circu- itous route has yet to result in a law the state can enforce. And last week, powerful courts have exchanged decisions that have been both in favor of the state’s efforts and against them. The bill would allow police forces throughout the state to arrest people they suspect of illegally crossing into Texas through the United States-Mexico border. Under SB 4, the crime would be a Class C misdemeanor liable for punishment of up to six months in jail. The bill would also pre- vent towns or agencies from enacting poli- cies against police asking about someone’s immigration status. On March 19, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that SB 4 could take effect until a deci- sion on the bill’s constitutionality from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could be made. That didn’t take long. Later that night, the federal appeals court blocked the law, but even that wasn’t the end of it. Should the state finally be allowed to enforce SB 4, it will add a new dimension to how local police departments, not just near the border but across Texas, connect with the people they’re obligated to pro- tect. On March 18, before the quick legal back-and-forth, the Fort Worth Police De- partment released a statement and video on X, addressing SB 4. Tucked into the statement read by Chief Neil Noakes was a somewhat surprising note hinting at how the department regards the possible law. “It is the mission of the Fort Worth Po- lice Department to serve every member of our community, and our day-to-day com- mitment to that mission will not change with the passage of Senate Bill 4,” the state- ment read. “Although we will always follow the law, the primary responsibility for im- migration enforcement and border protec- tion should be left to our federal and state partners. In light of the vibrant growth of our city and the diversity of our communi- ties, our department remains unwavering in its commitment to community policing and making Fort Worth the safest city in the country for all who call this community home.” Cowtown isn’t exactly known as a hotbed of liberalism, so an official statement from the city’s top cop seemingly going against a law that the state’s Republican governor has championed seems unusual. Local conser- vative radio host Mark Davis replied to the department’s X post, writing “Disappointing woke garbage from FW police…” The city’s police force view is a far cry from how the county sheriff sees things. Prior to the 5th Circuit decision, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn took an indig- nant, premature victory lap on social media, but he, too, perhaps inadvertently, took a shot at the bill as it is written. “Texans are frustrated with the contin- ued onslaught of illegal entry into this coun- try and the federal government’s unwillingness to act,” the X post read. “SB 4 is a tool for Texas law enforcement along the border to detain anyone they see crossing into the country illegally. It is unlikely that law enforcement in North Texas will have knowledge of an individual’s illegal entry status to enforce SB 4 due to this being pri- marily an on-view offense.” The sheriff brings up a good point. Matt Schaefer, the conservative state representa- tive from Tyler and one of the bill’s sponsors, says that police forces in most of the state shouldn’t be concerned with the possible new immigration-related law. “SB4 was NOT designed for interior en- forcement,” Schaefer wrote on X. “Its pri- mary effect is at the Texas border. Expecting local police in the interior (e.g. Ft. Worth) to engage in SB 4 enforcement misses the mark.” When reached for further comment on its SB 4 stance, a representative for the Fort Worth Police Department avoided our spe- cific questions while providing a short com- ment. We asked why the department felt the need to issue a statement that seemingly went against the state government and whether the statement meant the depart- ment would not attempt to enforce the law. Instead, we got a quote from a department tweet. “As we stated last night – ‘To be clear – and so there is no confusion— Fort Worth Police Department will ALWAYS enforce the law,’” read the email sent to the Ob- server. We reached out to a number of North Texas police departments to take their tem- perature regarding SB 4. Most depart- ments, including Frisco and Irving, opted to not provide comment since SB 4 is still in limbo. For his part, however, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia had plenty to say about the matter. “The Dallas Police Department is aware of the passage of SB4, that in part, authorizes Texas peace officers to arrest unauthorized immigrants (aliens as stated in SB4) who have illegally re-entered the state after admission is denied or were ex- cluded, deported, or removed from the United States,” Garcia wrote in both Eng- lish and Spanish in an email to the Ob- server. “We understand this law is a cause for concern for some in our community. The Dallas Police Department under- stands these concerns and will continue to enforce the existing state law that prohib- its racial profiling. The Department can- not prohibit or limit the enforcement of immigration laws; however, residents of Dallas, victims, and witnesses should con- tinue to feel confident in working with the Dallas Police Department.” Garcia more directly addressed how his department will handle the ups and downs of SB 4 in the near future by add- ing, “Until we have more clarification on the law, update Dallas Police Depart- ment’s procedures and General Orders, and provide additional training to ensure the protection of individuals’ civil rights, we will adhere to the current General Orders.” ▼ COURTS SUPREME SHUTDOWN SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO HEAR DALLAS SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS SUIT. BY JACOB VAUGHN F or the last few months, the city of Dal- las has forced sexually oriented busi- nesses to shut down between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. while a legal battle over the cur- few plays out. Last December, lawyers suing the city over the rule tried to get the case taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. Word arrived recently that the highest court in the land has declined to hear the case, Roger Al- bright, one of the attorneys, told the Ob- server Monday. However, he says this fight continues. “The Supreme Court denied our petition for writ just like they denied another 130 pe- titions the same day,” Albright said. “It was a great appeal but the Supreme Court takes very few appeals.” The Dallas Police Department began en- forcing the new hours of operation for the businesses in December. The curfew was approved by the Dallas City Council through an ordinance in January 2022, and the pen- alty for breaking it could be up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. Neighboring cities such as Plano and Fort Worth have similar curfews on the books. The sexually oriented businesses sued the city the same day the ordinance was passed. The ordi- nance applies to strip clubs, escort services and adult book and video stores. Since the ordinance was passed, workers and estab- lishment owners alike have worried about the repercussions, from lost hours to lost revenue. Meanwhile, the city argues that these es- tablishments, particularly during those early morning hours, are linked to incidences of violent crime and are a drain on police and fire department resources. The district court initially sided with the businesses, say- ing Dallas didn’t have the facts to back up the claim that sexually oriented establish- ments are tied to violent crime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. However, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying the city had plenty of evidence to back up its claim after all. The 5th Circuit ruling made note of a rash of fatal shootings in or near sexually oriented businesses in Dallas from late 2020 to early 2021. Additionally, a DPD task force that operated for eight months conducted patrols near these businesses after midnight, resulting in 123 felony arrests; it responded to 134 calls for service, issued more than 1,100 citations and seized drugs and weap- ons on 350 occasions. The department also found that the hours between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. accounted for a majority of aggravated assaults, rapes, robberies and murders around sexually oriented businesses in 2020 and 2021. Lawyers for the sexually oriented busi- nesses say DPD’s crime data is skewed be- cause it includes crime from within a 500-foot radius of the establishments, and doesn’t account for other businesses | UNFAIR PARK | Sara Button Under SB 4, anyone caught crossing the Texas border illegally could be arrested by local police instead of federal agents, as has long been the law. >> p8
