Federal agents stopped an off-duty police officer in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, stopped him from recording the interaction and pulled out a gun, according to the local police chief.
Amid growing concerns over immigration enforcement in Minnesota, a group of local police chiefs has claimed that immigration officials have stopped off-duty police officers “solely because of the color of their skin.”
Mark Bruley, chief of the Brooklyn Park Police Department in a suburb north of Minneapolis, said Americans are being “stopped on the street for no reason and forced to provide documentation to verify they are here legally.”
He said the officer was “victimized while off-duty,” adding that the stop appeared to “target” people of color.
In one incident, a police officer in a Brooklyn park was pinned down by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and “demanded documentation,” Broulee said.
He said the officers “had their guns drawn,” adding that one officer knocked an officer’s cellphone out of his hand as he tried to record the interaction.
“I wish I could have said this was an isolated incident,” Broulei said, flanked by other local police chiefs. “If this is happening to our police officers, it breaks my heart to think about how many community members fall victim to this every day. This has to stop.”
In a statement to USA TODAY, the Department of Homeland Security said, “DHS has been unable to find any records of ICE or Border Patrol stopping and questioning officers. Without names, we cannot verify these claims. We will continue to investigate these claims.”
The comments came amid increased scrutiny of tactics used by federal immigration officials following the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Nicole Good.
Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have defended the actions of federal officials in recent weeks, insisting the operation was targeted. Noem and other Homeland Security officials said people close to the suspect’s targets could be targeted for questioning.
“In every situation, we are conducting targeted enforcement,” Noem told reporters on January 15. “If we are conducting a targeted operation, there may be people around the offender, and we may ask them who they are, why they are there, and confirm their identity.”
St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry spoke at a press conference on January 20, expressing concern about the actions of federal agents.
“Our city officers have had similar experiences. Fortunately, no firearms were drawn, but the traffic stop was clearly outside the scope of a federal officer’s authorization,” Henry said.
“When American citizens are grabbed, stopped, and seized, these processes are clearly failing,” Henry added. “That can’t happen.”
About 3,000 immigration agents are in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge, which federal authorities are calling the “largest immigration operation in history.” At least 3,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested since the operation began in December, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
USA TODAY could not immediately confirm these numbers because authorities do not release the names or charges of most detainees.
Since Goode’s shooting, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Minneapolis and cities across the country to protest immigration enforcement. Rapid response groups have also been deployed across Minnesota, tracking undercover officers and unmarked vans and documenting enforcement efforts.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz encouraged civilians to protest peacefully and document federal agents for “future prosecution.”
Local police leaders appeared to doubt that any actions by federal immigration agents could lead to criminal charges, noting that federal agents have near immunity from prosecution for actions committed as part of their official duties.
Broulee, of Brooklyn Park, said she was met with confusion and more questions when she tried to get answers from federal officials.
“If you call ICE leadership or Border Patrol leadership, they can’t tell you what their agents were doing that day,” he said. “They want to provide a website to file a complaint, but the complaint requires the identity of the agent. The agent is not wearing a name tag and is wearing a face covering.”
Bruley said that while most federal employees “perform intensive and legitimate immigration work,” there appears to be “some entities that have what appears to be insufficient oversight.” He did not elaborate on the “group,” but said the most aggressive crackdown did not begin until after Good’s shooting.
The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to halt the ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown. The judge declined to issue an emergency injunction to expel the agents.
In another lawsuit filed in December, the same judge found sufficient evidence that federal agents used “intimidation tactics,” including “drawing and pointing weapons, and the use of pepper spray and other non-lethal munitions,” barring federal agents from using pepper spray or arresting peaceful protesters in Minnesota, according to an order filed in federal court.
(This article has been updated with comment from the Department of Homeland Security.)
Christopher Cann is a national breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Email us at ccann@usatoday.com.
