As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this summer, the federal agency has notified some local law enforcement agencies of its activities — but not others.
Sheriffs in Summit, Pitkin and Garfield counties said that they consider it a matter of public safety for federal law enforcement agencies to notify local authorities of operations that are planned in their jurisdictions.
“What we don’t want is a blue-on-blue incident. Thatap why you would want to communicate; for that reason more than any reason,” Pitkin County Sheriff Michael Buglione said, noting that ICE has alerted his office of its operations in the county this summer.
Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario agreed that there is “absolutely” a public safety reason why local authorities would want to know about federal law enforcement operations going on in their jurisdictions. In an email, Vallario said that ICE has “usually” notified his office when it conducts an operation in the county.
