The sheriff warns ICE agents, “You don’t want this smoke”; the police commissioner clarifies her role

At a news conference with District Attorney Larry Krasner, held in response to the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, Sheriff Bilal said of ICE agents: “If any want to come in this city and commit a crime, you will not be able to hide, nobody will whisk you off. You don’t want this smoke, cause we will bring it to you.” She called ICE “fake, wannabe law enforcement” and said, “No law enforcement professional wears a mask.”

The next day, after the police department was flooded with calls, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel issued a statement: the Sheriff’s Office is “a separate entity from the Philadelphia Police Department” and does “not conduct criminal investigations, nor does it in any way direct municipal policing.” He added: “clear lines of authority — and accurate public representation of those roles — are essential to maintaining public trust and effective public safety operations.”

The following week, at a press conference at Salt and Light Church in Kingsessing, Bilal elaborated on the remark. “That’s the smoke,” she said, referring to holding anyone who commits a crime in the city accountable.