On August 16th, a confrontation occurred in the morning in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, between federal immigration agents and three men. The three men refused to roll down the windows of their truck during a law enforcement operation. After the agents smashed the windows, the men drove away. Local law enforcement has since become involved.
According to reports from a local Los Angeles television station, around 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, a man driving a truck with his son and son-in-law was stopped near an intersection on Baseline Street.
In a video clip that was aired, it showed immigration and customs enforcement agents requesting the individuals to open the car windows, to which they refused. The windows of the driver and passenger side were smashed during the interaction with the agents. As they drove away from the scene, three gunshots were reportedly heard from behind the vehicle.
Simultaneously, officers from the San Bernardino Police Department were dispatched to Acacia Avenue and Baseline Street intersection upon learning of the shooting incident in the area. The police department released a statement saying, “Upon arrival, police encountered federal agents who informed them of the shooting incident and that the suspects had fled in a vehicle.”
Authorities stated that shortly after, the suspects themselves called 911, alleging that masked men had tried to stop them, smashed their car windows, and fired shots at them. The suspects claimed they did not recognize the assailants and requested assistance. Police officers went to the suspects’ residence and found the damaged vehicle.
At that time, the reasons why the suspects were being sought were not yet clear. Under the California Values Act, California law enforcement agencies are prohibited from interfering with federal officials conducting immigration enforcement. The police mentioned in their statement, “Therefore, officers left the scene during the federal officials’ investigation.”
The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice released a statement indicating that federal agents arrived at the suspect’s residence around 11 a.m. and waited outside for several hours, “forcing the suspect to come out”. They alleged that no search warrant was presented by the agents and no attempts were made to communicate with the suspect or their family.
Due to a large crowd gathering outside the suspect’s residence, around 1:15 p.m. that afternoon, San Bernardino Police Department officers returned to the location upon the agents’ request for assistance and implemented crowd control measures to maintain order.
Authorities noted, “In this case, federal agents requested assistance while legally arresting a suspect who had attacked federal officials, and the crowd posed a potential safety hazard to the officers.”
According to the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the agents left the residence before 4 p.m. They believe the first individual intercepted by ICE agents did not have a criminal record.
As of now, the relevant agencies have not provided further information regarding the case.