Special Order 40 is a police mandate implemented in 1979 by the Los Angeles Police Department ( LAPD ) , its Police Chief Daryl Gates and the Los Angeles City Council preventing LAPD officers from questioning people for the sole purpose of determining their immigration status . The mandate was passed in an effort to encourage undocumented aliens to report crimes without intimidation . The first section of the order states : In 2008 , Special Order 40 came under increased fire from conservative commentators Doug McIntyre , Kevin James , Walter Moore and various other figures in the public eye for what they saw as allowing the scenario that resulted in the homicide of Jamiel Shaw II by Pedro Espinoza , an illegal immigrant and gang member . The murder of Shaw was linked to Special Order 40 by its opponents because the alleged assailant had been arrested by Culver City police and then later released by the Los Angeles County Jail , although those two jurisdictions are separate and distinct from the City of Los Angeles and therefore were not subject to Special Order 40
homicide of Jamiel Shaw II
Murder of Jamiel Shaw II
Special Order 40