(Editor's note: This is just one part of a series of stories about local candidates in the upcoming June 2 primary, municipal and school board election. Find more coverage here.)
Simplified: Sioux Falls Simplified readers submitted several questions about public safety and the Sioux Falls Police Department ahead of the June 2 election. One of the topics that came up was questions about how the city's new mayor would approach collaboration between federal immigration officers and local police.
Here's what we asked:
Do you support collaboration between the Sioux Falls Police Department and federal immigration officials, i.e. ICE?
Here's what candidates had to say (in alphabetical order):
Joe Batcheller:
"Under the current administration with how things were handled in Minneapolis, people's constitutional rights were being violated," Batcheller said. "And that was unAmerican, so those type of tactics – no, I would not be supportive of. I think how it's played out here in Sioux Falls has been, I would say, much more subdued."
Christine Erickson:
"Yes, I do," Erickson said. "I think that we should not get in the way. I think that collaboration is key anytime necessary. I think its really important that not just federal but the state – we need to be working with them, the county, with, we’ll have a new sheriff coming up soon as well, which is an exciting opportunity to collaborate with them. I think collaboration is key in all things that we do ... I certainly don't want to get in the way of law enforcement doing their job."
Greg Jamison:
"I do," Jamison said. "The reality is what those federal officers are doing – we’re getting saturation patrols in our community and going after the worst of the worst in our state. Any chance we have to take advantage of that i’m going to take advantage of it."
Jamie Smith:
"I believe that they’re two very different things, and I think the city is here to make sure that our citizens are safe and provide … to be those trusted people in our community that all of us can go to for help. I do not believe in turning our Sioux Falls police into an arm of the federal government."
David Zokaites:
"Collaboration is one thing, allied support is another," Zokaites said. "We have laws. Laws should be enforced both for poor people and rich people with uniform treatment, but when people go around and act like terrorists than there’s something wrong.
No law enforcement agency should ever have a ski mask on when they enforce the law. ... They should be clearly identified what department, and then their name should be clearly identified, and their faces should be clearly identified, and they should wear body cameras and that should all be available if you're arrested or detained."
