By Joanna Putman
Police1
LOS ANGELES — The LAPD is looking to adjust its policies to allow immigrant officers with deferred citizenship to keep their service firearms while off-duty, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Federal law normally prohibits residents of the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA) from owning firearms, according to the report.
The LAPD is seeking to include officers’ off-duty hours as a continuation of their official duties, making it legal for DACA recipients to take their service firearms home with them.
“When these current individuals, who are DACA recipients, graduate from the academy, it would be appropriate for us to have a written policy that clearly defines what their authorities and responsibilities are, given their position as a police officer,” Chief Michel Moore told NBC Los Angeles.
The legal requirement for California officers to be U.S. citizens was removed in Sept. 2022, according to the report. Current law requires officers to be legally authorized to work in the U.S.