Chicago police officers responding to assist federal agents near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility were allegedly told to hold back, according to dispatch audio and internal messages reviewed by reporters. The incident occurred Saturday on the city’s South Side, where federal agents conducting a routine patrol were reportedly boxed in by vehicles and confronted by a crowd of protesters.
The Department of Homeland Security said the agents, patrolling about 15 miles from ongoing anti-ICE demonstrations in Broadview, a Chicago suburb, were “attacked and rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.” When the agents tried to exit their vehicle, a woman allegedly armed with a semi-automatic weapon attempted to drive into them. She was shot by officers and taken into custody.
Dispatch recordings reveal that Chicago police officers initially prepared to assist the federal agents but were allegedly instructed to stand down by the department’s chief of patrol. A female dispatcher can be heard detailing the situation, identifying a suspect involved in a hit-and-run, and describing the chaotic scene.
A male voice on the recordings instructs the dispatcher to have responding officers “stay put” a few blocks away and wait for further instructions. Moments later, the dispatcher relays the order: “Per the chief of patrol, all units clear out from there, we’re not sending anybody out to that location.”
Despite these instructions, an officer can be heard on the scene over sirens, explaining the challenges of leaving the area: “We’re going to clear out as soon as we can, we’re like blocked in over here, so we’re going to do the best we can to get out of here as soon as we can.”
The recordings suggest confusion and hesitation amid a tense confrontation, raising questions about the coordination between city police and federal agencies during high-risk incidents.
