‘Beyond Frustrating’ and ‘Absolutely Despicable’: Brooklyn Park Police Chief Decries ICE Tactics
For the second time in about a week, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley decried the tactics that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents are using during the immigration crackdown dubbed Operation Metro Surge.
His public comments come on the heels of two high-profile shootings of civilians in Minneapolis.
“Vehicles are being stopped or individuals are being stopped on the streets, street corners, businesses, simply because of the color of their skin,” Bruley told the Brooklyn Park City Council on Monday, Jan. 26. “And quite honestly, it’s become beyond frustrating and it’s absolutely despicable.”
Off-Duty Officer Stopped
According to Bruley, multiple officers within the Brooklyn Park Police Department have been stopped by ICE agents while off duty due to racial profiling.
He first spoke on the issue last week at a press conference at the Capitol in St. Paul, saying an off-duty officer was stopped by federal agents, who knocked a phone out of the officer’s hands. The federal agents left without offering any apology once the person identified themselves as an officer, Bruley said.
ICE appears to have retaliated by sending additional patrols to Brooklyn Park in the days following his comments, Bruley said.
“The repeated violation of constitutional rights, the repeated violation and targeting of people because of the color of their skin — it’s not only happened to police employees,” he said. “It’s happened to many police officers through different jurisdictions and it certainly has happened to our community repeatedly. And it needs to stop.”
Brooklyn Park residents should feel comfortable contacting local police if they are unsure of the legitimacy of ICE agents, he said.
“These individuals cover their face, they don’t wear body cameras, they don’t put their names on their uniforms,” Bruley said. “And it’s impossible to know who you’re dealing with.”
A relatively small group of agents are disregarding established law and the constitution, he said.
“I don’t judge legitimate law enforcement by federal agents — they’re entitled to do that,” he said. “What we really had seen a lot of the previous week is ICE doing lots of traffic enforcement and stopping of vehicles. ICE cannot stop vehicles like police officers stop vehicles. They do not have the authority, they do not have the ability to enforce traffic laws.”
Police Chiefs Call for White House Meeting
The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association on Sunday called for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
“Minnesota’s law enforcement officers are facing growing challenges in fulfilling their core responsibilities of protecting life, enforcing the law, and serving communities in accordance with constitutional principles,” the association wrote in a press release. “That work depends on comprehensive training, sound investigative practices, adherence to the rule of law, and effective coordination among local, state, and federal partners. During periods of elevated tension, thoughtful leadership and responsible communication are essential to reducing strain rather than amplifying it.”
Meanwhile, Gregory Bovino, Commander-at-Large of the United States Border Patrol, has been pulled out of Minneapolis after federal agents fatally shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis this weekend.
Bovino is reportedly being stripped of his title as commander.
Border czar Tom Homan has now been sent to Minnesota to manage Operation Metro Surge.
Border Patrol agents appear to be causing the most “harm” in the community, Bruley said.
The command change brings “maybe a potential to try to get some relief and some corrections on some of the terrible behaviors that we’ve been experiencing in our communities,” he said.
Communication Breakdown
Bruley said there is little to no communication between federal agents and local police departments.
“I will tell you that, and it disappoints me to say this, but our relationship with the federal agents has eroded to where there’s not even conversations,” he said. “Earlier this week, they chased an individual into our police department front lobby. We tried to — obviously we went in the front lobby as they were taking him into custody to try to figure out this individual’s identity. They would hardly speak to our officers or comment.”
He pushed back on the narrative that local police are unwilling to cooperate with ICE agents.
“Sometimes you hear some rhetoric about local law enforcement not cooperating with federal agents,” Bruley said. “It simply goes both ways. The federal agents aren’t even having conversations with police officers when they’re there.”
Impact on Local Officers
Many officers in the Brooklyn Park Police Department are concerned their work will be tainted by the conduct of federal agents.
“The biggest impact that I hear in the hallways or officers that I talk to is the absolute lack of training, lack of respect for humanity that we see from federal agents,” Bruley said. “And just the way in which they’re doing their job is so inconsistent with the way that we train, the way that we operate and when we serve our community, I think there’s just a concern from our police officers that they don’t want to be associated with that. They don’t want our community to look at us and say ‘hey, that’s what police do.’ Because that is not what the local police do.”
As the department has become more diverse in recent years, officers also worry about their families at home.
“Some of them are first-generation immigrants, many of them come from immigrant families and have people at home that they love that are first-generation immigrants,” Bruley said. “That really hits home for a certain segment of our population.”
Connection to Community
The ICE surge has actually strengthened trust between the Brooklyn Park Police Department and the community rather than destroy it, according to Bruley.
Multiple residents have looked to the police department for help when they’ve been chased by ICE.
“In some ways I think it made them realize how good police officers can be, right? When they see how bad they can act at times,” he said. “I think it’s really showed them that we work hard, and we do.”
See also: After ICE Arrest, Brooklyn Park Restaurant Says It’s Temporarily Closed ‘For Remodeling’
