A car collision involving the United States Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago led to a violent arrest on Friday. Immigrations agents arrested a man after his sedan collided with the rear of the border patrol vehicle, the Associated Press reported.
A video of the incident, which took place around noon in Evanston, shows the immigration agent repeatedly punching a restrained man on the head. The man can also be seen pinned to the ground with his hands cuffed at the back.
The Department of Homeland Security later said that these were “defensive strikes”, AP reported.
The incident also drew a crowd of onlookers, which grew even as the matter escalated. Among the videos posted on social media, some show onlookers trying to intervene amid the arrests.
Due to the violent nature of the incident, HT.com has not inserted the viral video
Federal agents were also seen trying to use pepper spray, punching a man who tried to approach them and pointing a gun towards a woman who tried to open the door of the agents' vehicle, where a detainee was kept.
While some witnesses claimed online that the agents had suddenly braked in front of the sedan causing the crash, federal officials denied these allegations, according to the AP report. The Department of Homeland Security said the agents were “aggressively tailgated” and the sedan hit them as they tried to make a U-turn.
{{/usCountry}}While some witnesses claimed online that the agents had suddenly braked in front of the sedan causing the crash, federal officials denied these allegations, according to the AP report. The Department of Homeland Security said the agents were “aggressively tailgated” and the sedan hit them as they tried to make a U-turn.
{{/usCountry}}“A hostile crowd then surrounded agents and their vehicle, verbally abusing and spitting on them,” the DHS said.
In a news conference after the incident, Evanston Mayor Daniel Bliss said agents had “beaten people up” and “abducted them." “Our message for ICE is simple: Get the hell out of Evanston,” Bliss said, while calling the incident and outrage.
Evanston community members set up ‘rapid response’ teams
Federal agents are spreading throughout Evanston in recent days under the Donald Trump-led administration's immigration enforcement activities in the region.
In response to the arrests, some members of the Evanston community have set up “rapid response” teams. These warn residents when federal agents are spotted in the areas and try to slow the agents as they travel through the region, according to AP.
Mayor Bliss has urged more people to join the rapid response team, with officials declaring the city property to be “No ICE Zones."
Meanwhile, Evanston Police Department this week has begun sending a supervisor to any reported immigration enforcement scene to document the arrests and collect evidence for the Illinois attorney general’s Civil Rights Division, AP quoted Police Cmdr. Ryan Glew as saying.