The Butler County commissioners voted Wednesday to authorize the $20,120 purchase of liability insurance for the 13 sheriff deputies working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The policy will be through Richmond National Insurance Company and funding will come from the sheriff’s department budget.

The one-year policy will be in effect from June 1 of this year. The policy provides $2 million in coverage for each claim. It requires a $25,000 deductible for each claim.

The purchase was made after the county’s liability insurance provider Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool, known as PCoRP, notified the county in April that employees acting under the direction of any federal agency dealing with immigration enforcement will be excluded from liability coverage beginning June 1.

The motion to approve the supplemental insurance passed in a 2-1 vote with Democratic Commissioner Kevin Boozel voting against it.

Seven residents urged the commissioners not to approve the policy, saying the money should be spent to benefit the community. They criticized ICE’s enforcement and detention efforts and said the county should not be involved. Some also said the county and sheriff’s office are allowing themselves to be governed by ICE.

Slupe said he submitted a request to ICE to pay for the policy, but he hasn’t received the money because of the government shutdown impacting the agency.

Commissioner Kim Geyer said she believes the deputies were covered by the county’s liability insurance through June 1, but there is no requirement to have insurance.

She said some of the residents who have come to the commissioners meeting speaking against the sheriff’s office involvement with federal immigration enforcement have asked her why the sheriff’s office needs insurance if they are covered under federal insurance and she wants to answer them in public.

The policy purchased Wednesday provides legal counsel for the sheriff’s office and protects the county against claims, Geyer said. The deputies have qualified immunity, and absolute immunity in some cases, while working with ICE.

She said the new policy is needed because PCoRP won’t cover the deputies beginning June 1.

“I don’t see us as abdicating. What I see is a separately elected official who has made his decision. And I appreciate the fact that you’ve all come in and expressed your views, but I guess (I would) remind you that we are separately elected with separately elected powers,” said Leslie Osche, commissioners chairwoman.

She said residents have the power to choose elected officials by voting, but the commissioners must make sure employees are covered by insurance for the work they do.

“I think, in all, it’s a shame that all of this has politicized public safety and our governmental cooperation and insurance to some degree. I think it’s a sad statement of where we are,” Osche said.

Boozel said he still believes the deputies were not covered by the PCoRP insurance because the commissioners did not approve the 287(g) agreement at a public meeting and PCoRP informed the county that they were not covered.

Slupe said there was confusion from PCoRP, but acknowledged receiving PCoRP’s statement from Boozel.

In February, Slupe signed a 287(g) agreement to work with ICE. The commissioners have not voted on whether they approve that agreement. Boozel said he believes the 287(g) agreement is a contract that requires approval from the commissioners.

Slupe said he does not believe the 287(g) agreement is a contract, but acknowledged that courts are likely to answer that question.

“Until then, we’re operating on the premise that we have the right and the ability to do this work with this program within the parameters of the program and, you know, they have now the ability to get reimbursement for salary and county paid benefits. So we’re going to be submitting that, those fees as well. So we will be getting reimbursed for that,” Slupe said.

Boozel also raised concerns about a deputy working out of the county with ICE.

He said he was told that a deputy was at the scene of a recent ICE operation at a PennDOT driver’s license center in West Kittanning, Armstrong County. The April 3 operation resulted in 13 people being detained, but some of the people ICE targeted scattered and were apprehended later.

Slupe said the deputy who went to the operation lives in Armstrong County and called him, requesting to assist. Slupe said he told the deputy he couldn’t pay him because the day was a holiday, but the deputy still wanted to go. The deputy went and made contact with an ICE supervisor and West Kittanning police, he said.

Slupe said the deputy was not in uniform, did not use a county-owned vehicle and it was up to the deputy to ask ICE to pay him. He said he doesn’t know if the deputy wore a mask. He said deputies wear their uniforms, don’t wear masks and usually use marked department vehicles when working with ICE.