SLC Police Chief Rails Against Arizona Law

Salt Lake City Tribune: Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank joined fellow law enforcement officials from across the nation in a meeting Wednesday with Attorney General Eric Holder to relay concerns over Arizona's new immigration law the cops say will dampen crime-fighting efforts. Burbank and the other police chiefs met with Holder for an hour at the Justice Department, sharing fears the Arizona law would deter witnesses or crime victims from coming forward and damage relations between officers and the Latino community. The Arizona law requires police to verify the legal status of anyone reasonably suspected of being in the country illegally. "It's important, especially for people in the federal government, in Washington, D.C., to understand the local concerns. This becomes a very local issue," Burbank said after the meeting. "How does an individual officer interact with members of the community and keep a level of trust when they are forced to engage in what is profiling or racial policing practices?"