The Emerald City is joining the growing list of left-wing areas that are seeing severe shortages of law enforcement officers. Because of this, the Seattle Police Department (Seattle PD) has utilized a law signed by Gov. Jay Inslee that permits DACA recipients to become police officers. The law also allows them to apply to become city firefighters, fish and wildlife officers and deputies of county sheriffs.
According to officials, the Evergreen State is home to more than 14,000 DACA recipients, who received relief from deportation and the ability to legally work under the 2012 federal program. To qualify, DACA participants must have come to the U.S. before their 16th birthday and lack legal authorization to live in the U.S., plus pass a rigorous criminal background check.
In April, Jason Rantz of KTTH 770 reported that staffing on the Seattle PD is at levels not seen in 67 years. The police department said in an email that as of Dec. 31, 2023, the department only had 424 active-duty police officers. A human resources document obtained by Rantz further hammered the problem – of the 424 officers, 66 were eligible for retirement and 84 were over the age of 50. (Related: Seattle mayor demands FEWER WHITE MEN in city’s police department, leaked memo reveals.)
Meanwhile, a member of the Seattle Police Officer's Guild told Law Enforcement Today that the anti-police mindset of the city administration has prompted officers to leave the Seattle PD in droves.
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While the exodus was exacerbated due to the anti-police sentiments embodied by left-wing city leaders during the George Floyd riots, it had actually started the year before, when the city passed an accountability ordinance targeting cops. Among the "highlights" of that ordinance was giving leftist activists subpoena power while removing arbitration rights away from police officers.
DACA police officers now allowed to carry firearms
In February, former Seattle PD Chief Adrian Diaz – who was still in the position at the time – told a Seattle City Council Committee that staffing at the department dropped. From more than 1,400 sworn officers in 2017, this fell to fewer than 1,050 last year. Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins also told the committee that his department has 120 open firefighting jobs.
One issue facing DACA recipients becoming police officers is that they are in the country illegally. This means they aren't generally permitted to carry a firearm. However, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under President Joe Biden has ruled otherwise.
"It is ATF's position that DACA recipients can possess duty firearms and … ammunition as part of their official law enforcement officer duties," according to the Police Executive Research Forum.
The ATF argues that if a bona fide citizen officer is required to possess a firearm at all times, whether on- or off-duty, it is legal for DACA recipients to possess firearms in either capacity. However, if the police department they work for does not have such a requirement, DACA recipients are only able to possess firearms while on duty and must turn it in at the end of each shift.
California and Colorado have already passed laws opening up law enforcement jobs to DACA recipients. Similar measures have been introduced in New Jersey and Virginia. In one example, the Los Angeles Police Department modified its department policy so that DACA recipients can possess their firearms while on duty. Under the same policy, DACA recipients' off-duty hours are now considered part of the "performance of their official duties."
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