Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Houston Police Sergeant Joslyn M. Johnson on the Third Anniversary of the Death of Her Husband, a Former Police Officer Killed in the Line of Duty by Illegal Alien

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston, the Houston Police Department and Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt on behalf of Houston Police Sergeant Joslyn M. Johnson related to the department's illegal alien sanctuary policies. 

Sergeant Johnson is the widow of former Houston Police officer Rodney J. Johnson, killed in the line of duty by an illegal alien three years ago, on September 21, 2006.

According to the lawsuit, filed in the Harris County, Texas District Court in conjunction with Houston attorney Ben Dominguez II:

Sergeant Johnson challenges current policies, practices, and procedures of the Houston Police Department that substantially restrict, if not prohibit, Plaintiff from communicating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") about illegal aliens who are criminally present in the United States.

Plaintiff does not seek to detain or arrest persons in order to inquire about their immigration status. Rather, Plaintiffs seeks to use her professional judgment to determine when it is appropriate to contact ICE to inquire or provide information about a person's immigration status if, in the course of carrying out her duties and responsibilities as a law enforcement officer, she has reason to believe a crime may have been committed.

The complaint maintains that Houston's illegal alien sanctuary policies harm Sergeant Johnson's ability "to fulfill her oath and otherwise carry out her duties and responsibilities as a law enforcement officer," while also restricting Sergeant Johnson's freedom of expression.

On September 21, 2006, Officer Rodney Johnson was making a routine traffic stop when he was shot and killed by Juan Leonardo Quintero-Perez, a previously deported Mexican national who had reentered and was living in the U.S. illegally. After reentering the U.S. illegally, Quintero-Perez had multiple interactions with the Houston Police Department before shooting and killing Officer Johnson, including at least one arrest for driving under the influence and citations for failing to stop and give information following an accident and driving with a suspended license.

As Judicial Watch notes in the lawsuit, "But for the Houston Police Department's policies, practices, and procedures that substantially restrict, if not prohibit its officers from sharing information with ICE, Officer Rodney Johnson may be alive today."

"Houston's illegal alien sanctuary policy is not only illegal, but it has also placed the public safety at risk. Sergeant Johnson simply wants the Houston Police Department to obey federal law and help avert more senseless killings and other crimes," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The Houston Police Department needs to end policies that restrict communication between its officers and federal immigration officials."

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Deport ICE
written by AmericanPieHole, September 26, 2009

I am sick and tired of these lawless reprobates being above the law. If you want immigration law to work we need to seek them out, apprehend them, prosecute them, confiscate their wealth and deport them along with all their anchor children. If it is against the law then all law enforcement officials should be able to execute the law. Local law enforcement should not expect ICE to respond because they are the most incompetent, most useless form of government and should be rea*signed to school crossing although that would put our kids in danger so perhaps we should just deport them. ICE agents think they are something special and they are a special kind of pond scum that were largely responsible for 911 and responsible for the continued destruction of this country.

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Where your birth cert.
written by tuxkabin, September 27, 2009

NOt one Judge in the United States of America will take the United States Justice Foundations case nor even hear the facts about Obama being a Usurper in the Whte House why would you even think that any court in AMerica will rule justly against the city of Houston. The American courts are as crooked as a snakes back.And what about the American GrandJury.Org website.

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sanctuary cities
written by Wes, September 27, 2009

sanctuary cities are a place for criminals and illegal aliens to hide and not worry about being arrested.
they commit a crime and then run and hide in a safe place and just LAUGH at US and our LAWS.
I'm sure our Founding Fathers did not allow the BRITISH sanctuary cities to hide in.
But ... the truth be told, our politicians are a bunch of GIRLY-MEN-COWARDS, interested in themselves
and not the AMERICAN PEOPLE. 2010 and 2012, SHOULD BE THEIR EXIT VISA.
GET OUT AND VOTE, THE VOTE IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IN THE WORLD.
USE IT or LOSE IT !

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