Off-duty Twin Cities officers 'targeted' by ICE agents seeking proof of US citizenship, chief says

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Off-duty police officers in the Twin Cities are now finding themselves on the wrong end of federal enforcement, according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley, who says his own officers have been “targeted” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents demanding proof of US citizenship.

Bruley sounded the alarm Tuesday, Jan 20, joining several law enforcement leaders at a press conference warning that Operation Metro Surge is spiraling into what they called “civil rights violations in our streets.” 

Chief says complaints are 'endless'

Bruley said that over the last two weeks, his department has been flooded with “endless complaints” from community members about federal enforcement activity. But amid those reports, it emerged that several Brooklyn Park police officers were also stopped by federal agents while off duty.

“Every one of these individuals is a person of color,” Bruley added. He went on to recount one incident in detail, relayed directly to him by one of his officers.

According to Bruley, the officer had been off duty and driving along a roadway when she passed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The agents “boxed her in” and “demanded her paperwork,” Bruley told reporters.

The officer didn’t have documentation with her because she is a US citizen, but things escalated quickly. Agents “had their guns drawn,” he said. "When she became concerned about the rhetoric and the way she was being treated, she pulled out her phone in an attempt to record incident. The phone was knocked out of her hands."

Only after she identified herself as a Brooklyn Park police officer did the agents back off and leave the scene, according to the chief.

Not an isolated incident as officers warn trust is being broken

Bruley made it clear this was not a one-off. “I wish I could tell you that this was an isolated incident,” he said. “In fact, many of the chiefs standing behind me have similar incidents with their off-duty officers.”

He said that the issue goes beyond officers being stopped. “This isn't just important because it happened to off-duty officers,” Bruley explained. “But what it did do is we know that our officers know what the Constitution is, they know what right and wrong is, and they know when people are being targeted. And that's what they were.”

Despite stressing their support for lawful immigration enforcement, local leaders said the tactics they’re seeing are undoing years of trust-building between police departments and the communities they serve.

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said that already fragile trust is now at risk. “The trust is fragile right now, and it is an essential element to public safety,” Witt said. “Today that trust is being damaged, broken by the questionable and sometimes unethical actions of some — some — federal agents, particularly in these last recent weeks.”

Witt, Bruley and St Paul Police Chief Axel Henry called for accountability and increased oversight of the roughly 3,000 federal agents deployed across the Twin Cities area.

Questions raised about training and oversight

When asked by WCCO whether the alleged unlawful actions could be tied to the wide mix of federal agencies on the ground that have different training and tactics, Sheriff Witt said the vetting process itself deserves scrutiny. She questioned whether training standards remain as rigorous as they once were.

Chief Axel Henry echoed those concerns at the January 20 news conference, saying city employees in St Paul have had similar encounters.

“We’ve had employees for our city that have experienced some of the same things,” Henry said. “Thankfully not with firearms drawn, but traffic stops that were clearly outside the bounds of what federal agents are allowed to do.”

He added, “These processes are clearly failing if American citizens are being grabbed or stopped or seized. This can’t happen."

Later Tuesday, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino was asked to respond to the Brooklyn Park incident. He declined to address it directly. Instead, Bovino said agencies would continue to carry out their legal Title 8 mission.

Meanwhile, officials from the Trump administration have publicly defended federal enforcement efforts in recent weeks, maintaining that operations are targeted and lawful. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said earlier this month that individuals near enforcement targets may still be questioned.

“In every situation we are doing targeted enforcement,” Noem said while speaking to reporters on January 15. “If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal who we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity.”