Report says mayor, chief not involved in arrest Includes new procedures for local and federal law enforcement interaction BY JAY BODAS Staff Writer EDISON - The police internal investigation into possible coordination of the department with federal authorities regarding an Aug. 2 arrest has been completed, officials recently announced. "Previous to this incident there was an absence of procedures regarding interactions with other law enforcement agencies," according to a prepared joint statement released by Mayor Jun Choi and Police Chief George Mieczkowski on Nov. 22. "The commitment now is to ensure an incident like this will not occur in the future." Rajnikant Parikh, 30, of Edison, was arrested on Aug. 2 in front of the municipal complex by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest branch of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He was wanted on a deportation order that was at least several years old, according to ICE spokeswoman Jamie Zuieback. The police department's investigation was reviewed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office and by the state Attorney General's office, officials said. "The internal investigation showed the mayor and police chief had no knowledge of communications with ICE or that an arrest was going to take place, substantiating previous statements by the mayor and police chief," the report said. While the arrest served a "legitimate law enforcement purpose," the investigation also concluded that the "timing and environment" of the arrest was "inappropriate." The two Edison police officers who were aware an arrest by federal authorities would be conducted that day were to be counseled regarding their responsibilities as officers, but their identities would not be released due to attorney general guidelines. Preventative measures have now been implemented and installed in the department's rules, regulations, and general orders, according to the statement. "If any outside agency contacts an officer, the officer is to notify the watch commander who will then communicate with the command staff if necessary," the statement said. "Officers failing to follow this procedure will be the subject of disciplinary actions." Responding to the announcement, Edison Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 75 President Michael Schwarz said that "no officers involved acted inappropriately." "The arrest of Parikh was effected legally and lawfully," Schwarz said. "However, the incident caused unnecessary turmoil and tension for the police department and members of the community. We are glad the issue is finally put to rest and proper policy and procedure has been generated specifying how situations of this matter will be handled in the future." Currently, Parikh remains incarcerated at Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny, according to his attorney Ravinder Bhalla. Bhalla, who represents Parikh on issues relating to his Aug. 2 arrest but not on any immigration matters, disagreed with Schwarz's assessment of the arrest. "I know Mr. Schwarz insists that it was a lawful arrest, but our contention all along was that any arrest that violates one's constitutional rights is not a lawful arrest," Bhalla said. "This arrest occurred while Parikh was exercising his constitutional rights of free speech." But overall, one member of the mayor's advisory panel on community relations said that a "good deal of progress" had been made in the last month-and-a-half. "Some of the things the investigation identified was that there was no accountability or chain of command, but now we have that," said Satish Poondi, who is director of communications for the Indian Business Association. "Now we have a policy as to who is responsible, with a hierarchy of leaders in the stream of contact. I am happy on how far we have come." Poondi also said that the issue was never about supporting the cause of illegal immigrants. "That has never been part of the conversation," Poondi said. "I think the community gets misrepresented as advocating illegal immigration. What we have advocated is building a relationship between the police and the Indian-American community."