Minn. Police Chief Says He’s Heard ‘Endless Complaints About Civil Rights Violations’ by ICE, Had Officers Targeted: ‘It Has to Stop’

Law enforcement leaders from agencies across the Twin Cities say their departments have been flooded with civil rights complaints over the past two weeks — allegations that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are stopping people, including off-duty police officers, based largely on the color of their skin.

At a Tuesday news conference on Jan. 20, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley and other local leaders called for stronger oversight of the increased federal presence in Minneapolis, as President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown ramps up.

Tensions in the city have been high since Jan. 7, when Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an ICE agent — a killing that has triggered protests nationwide.

Bruley opened by making clear he and the officials standing with him were not calling for ICE to be eliminated.

“The truth is, immigration enforcement is necessary for our national security and for local security, but how it’s done is extremely important,” Bruley said, adding that local agencies have historically worked “exceptionally well” with federal partners, including ICE.

But, he said, something changed in the last two weeks.

“We, as a law enforcement community, have been receiving endless complaints about civil rights violations in our streets from U.S. citizens,” Bruley said. He described reports of people being stopped in traffic encounters or approached on the street “with no cause” and ordered to produce documents proving they are legally in the country.

He said those reports have included off-duty police officers.

“Every one of these individuals is a person of color who has had this happen to them,” Bruley claimed.

An Off-Duty Officer’s Account

Bruley shared an incident involving an officer from his department who said she was stopped while driving past ICE agents.

“When they boxed her in, they demanded her paperwork, of which she’s a U.S. citizen and clearly would not have any paperwork,” he said.

According to Bruley, the officer pulled out her phone to record what was happening — and the phone was knocked out of her hand.

“The officers had their guns drawn during this interaction,” Bruley said. He added that after the woman identified herself as a Brooklyn Park police officer “in hopes of slowing” and deescalating the situation, the agents left.

“I wish I could tell you this was an isolated incident,” he said. “In fact, many of the chiefs standing behind me have similar incidents with their off-duty officers.”

Bruley stressed that the concern isn’t only about police being targeted.

“The issue was not of importance simply because it is happening to off-duty police officers,” he said, emphasizing that officers understand constitutional rights and can recognize when people are being singled out.

“And that’s what they were,” he said.

“If it is happening to our officers, it pains me to think of how many of our community members are falling victim to this every day,” he added. “It has to stop.”

Bruley said the alleged conduct is eroding public trust — trust he said local agencies have worked to rebuild in the years since the unrest that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

He suggested the problem may be concentrated among a smaller group of agents participating in the surge, and he called for increased oversight to stop what local leaders say are escalating reports of civil rights violations.

Other Leaders Echo Concerns

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said city employees have also described encounters resembling what Bruley laid out — “thankfully not with firearms drawn,” he noted — but still beyond what he believes federal agents are permitted to do.

“Law enforcement has more authority than a general citizen,” Henry said. “That means we have more responsibility in how we behave.”

He called the situation unacceptable if American citizens are being stopped, seized, or questioned without proper cause.

“We have to find common ground here and we have to figure out a way that these processes, which are clearly failing if American citizens are being grabbed or stopped or seized. This can’t happen,” Henry said. “We have to make sure that everyone’s civil rights are in tact.”

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt also spoke, invoking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a day after the federal holiday honoring him.

“I know what it’s like to be stereotyped, judged and profiled,” Witt said. “I know firsthand what it means to be seen before being understood.”

Witt said she believes hard-won progress in local law enforcement is being undermined.

“I am seeing and hearing about people in Hennepin County stopped, questioned and harassed, solely because of the color of their skin,” she said. “Solely being the operative word here.”

And she warned that the impact is not limited to civilians — charging that discrimination is bleeding into law enforcement itself.