The City of Peoria is dismissing a recent social media post suggesting the police department hired a part-time officer to implement strict federal requirements on illegal immigration.
During Tuesday’s city council meeting, Councilwoman Beth Jensen asked Police Chief Jerry Mitchell if the department had been notified to do so.
Mitchell: "We have not received any direction from the federal government regarding immigration."
Jensen: "So the police department is not going out of its way to pick up potential illegal immigrants and to run their records to see if they have warrants out and things like that?" Mitchell: "You are correct. We are not."
The Facebook post referred to the officer as part-time. The City of Peoria has no part-time officers.