Judicial Watch Represents Police Officer in Lawsuit Against City of Houston, Houston Police Department Over Unlawful Illegal Immigration Policy

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - September 24, 2009) - Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it filed a lawsuit September 21, 2009, 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, Plaintiff 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."

Visit www.JudicialWatch.org to view the documents related to Judicial Watch's lawsuit against the City of Houston.

Contact Information: Contact: Jill Farrell 202-646-5188