Recently a letter to the editor was submitted to the Daily Camera in which the Lafayette Police Department was accused of using a Move Over traffic safety campaign as a cover for immigration enforcement. This was an opinion by a third party that was not involved in the traffic stop and was inaccurate information and not true. The Lafayette Police Department strongly believes in equal protection under the law and the rule of law. We treat everyone equally regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
On February 16th the Lafayette Police Department participated in a statewide campaign to educate and enforce the requirement for motorists to pull to the left and yield to police officers who have stopped motorist alongside the roadway. Lafayette participated along with other Boulder County agencies and agencies across the state. Colorado has seen several deaths of police officers due to being struck by motorists who have failed to move over or significantly slow down if unable to safely move a lane to the left. Lafayette officers have experienced close calls due to this and we felt it was important to shift resources for this traffic safety campaign and participate as our call load allowed. As a result of this effort, one motorist who was stopped, and based on all of the concern about ICE enforcement recently, felt our campaign was an effort to identify undocumented immigrants and apprehend them. This was not the case. Immigration enforcement falls under the jurisdiction of ICE and not the Lafayette Police Department. We do not ask citizens we contact for proof of citizenship or immigration status.