Chicago police officers responding to assist federal agents surrounded by protesters near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility were reportedly instructed to hold back, according to dispatch recordings and internal messages reviewed by reporters. The incident occurred Saturday on the city’s South Side, where federal agents conducting a routine patrol were allegedly attacked, rammed by vehicles, and boxed in by ten cars.
The agents were approximately 15 miles from ongoing anti-ICE demonstrations outside the ICE processing center in Broadview, a Chicago suburb, when the confrontation began. Federal officials said that as agents attempted to exit their vehicle, a woman armed with a semi-automatic weapon allegedly tried to drive into them. She was shot by officers and later taken into custody.
Dispatch audio suggests that local police officers were initially preparing to respond but were ordered to stand down by the Chicago Police Department’s chief of patrol. A female dispatcher described the scene, identifying suspects involved in a hit-and-run and detailing how federal agents had been driven off the road.
In the recordings, a male voice instructs the dispatcher to have responding officers “stay put” a few blocks away and wait for further instructions. Shortly after, the dispatcher relays: “Per the chief of patrol, all units clear out from there, we’re not sending anybody out to that location.”
Despite the orders, an officer on the scene can be heard over sirens explaining the challenges: “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 incident raised questions about coordination and response protocols between city police and federal agencies during high-risk confrontations.
