California police intervene as ICE agent in plain clothes points gun at woman | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent briefly held a woman at gunpoint when he claimed she was following him, prompting a Southern California police officer to intervene, authorities said.
The police department in Fullerton, a city in Orange County almost 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Los Angeles, said Sunday that one of its officers had just finished taking an arrested man to the county jail when he saw two vehicles stopped at an intersection in Santa Ana.
In the statement made by the agency, it was stated that the police officer stopped when he saw a man coming out of one of the vehicles and pointing a firearm at the other driver. He did not know the identity of the gunman, who initially wore civilian clothes and soon provided identification identifying him as an ICE agent.
Video of the incident appeared online It appeared to show the officer “assisting” the ICE agent, and the department attempted to clarify his role in the incident. Press release. Footage of the incident shows a man wearing sunglasses and a green shirt standing in the middle of the intersection and pointing a gun at the driver when a police officer approaches.
“What are you doing?” the woman held at gunpoint asked in the video. “Is it really you right now? And now these cops are helping them… I’m just driving.”
The department said the agent told him the woman was following him and filming him, and the officer informed him he could not help unless a crime had been committed. The woman left shortly after, following the officer, according to the statement.
“ICE is a federal law enforcement agency, and Fullerton Police Officers will assist them and any other local, state or federal law enforcement agency in situations requiring immediate officer safety,” the department said.
“However, Senate Bill 54 prohibits local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement. The Fullerton Police Department has not and will not participate in immigration enforcement.”
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security accused the driver of yelling at the agent and trying to cause a crash, saying the agent “followed his training,” turned on his emergency lights, identified himself and ordered the driver to stop.
“Following the driver’s aggression and refusal to comply with law enforcement commands, our officer followed his training and drew his weapon to defend himself. The driver fled the scene before local police arrived and remains at large. No shots were fired,” DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
However, in the video, the driver’s voice can be heard as the police officer intervenes at the scene; This appears to contradict McLaughlin’s statement that the driver fled before police arrived.
FBI calls on US immigration officials identify themselves clearly Following a series of crimes committed by people pretending to be agents.
