This past Sunday, an extremely tense situation played out in Santa Ana, Calif. One of those agents, a plainclothes ICE agent, pulled his gun on the woman who was driving. Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of the DHS, provided her perspective on what was an extraordinary event. She noted that there were no shots fired in the entire confrontation. One of these officers from the Fullerton Police Department had just completed a prisoner transport to a county jail. Barely a minute later, the collision occurred.
The FPD, located in Orange County, which is the next county south of Los Angeles County and home to many of L.A. Last week, an officer patrolling the area noticed two unoccupied vehicles blocking an intersection in Santa Ana. The context of this exchange made the interaction grow extremely tense once the officer interjected.
“In her statement, McLaughlin addressed the actions taken by the ICE agent: “To defend himself, following the aggression of the driver and her refusal to follow law enforcement commands, our officer followed his training and drew his weapon.”
We heard from witnesses that the woman who was being held hostage was saying, ‘this is all ridiculous, crazy, out of control. But what are you doing!” she scolded the agent. She further questioned the situation, exclaiming, “Are you for real right now? And now these cops are helping them … I’m just driving.”
The Fullerton Police Department clarified its role regarding immigration enforcement, stating, “Senate Bill 54 prohibits local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement.” This is an important piece of legislation that would end the cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents. The department noted, “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 involving immediate officer safety.”
The particulars of the meeting are still under close examination. It has opened up a dialogue about the proper scope of law enforcement’s role and the dangers posed by federal takeover of local jurisdictions. No arrests were captured at the scene as the hit-and-run driver had fled before local police arrived on the scene.