An ICE agent pointed a weapon at a woman in Santa Ana who the agent said followed and recorded him on Sunday, Nov. 9, Fullerton police said.
Fullerton police released a statement clarifying that a Fullerton police officer had pulled over Sunday afternoon to respond to a man pointing a firearm at the driver of the vehicle behind him after the two cars had stopped near Santa Ana Boulevard and Shelton Street.
Social media videos of the interaction had spurred rumors that Fullerton police were “assisting” ICE, which was not the case, the department said.
The officer was on his way back to Fullerton after transporting an inmate to the Orange County Jail, police said. The officer did not know the identity of the man with the firearm when he pulled over, but the man identified himself as an ICE officer to police and showed credentials.
In video from the scene, the man is dressed in plainclothes, with a badge on his belt. He approaches the car while holding his gun near his chest, pointing it at the woman’s vehicle.
He and the woman, recording from inside her vehicle, exchange words as he approaches.
“You can’t be following us like that,” the agent says at one point.
“I live here,” the woman responds.
He told the police officer the woman in the vehicle behind him had been following and recording him, Fullerton police said in a statement. The officer told the ICE agent he could not help him if he was being followed and recorded if no crime had been committed.
Police said the woman left the area and the Fullerton officer “reiterated” that he couldn’t assist the ICE agent if no crime had taken place. The officer then left, police said.
Fullerton police will assist ICE, a federal law enforcement agency, with “situations involving immediate officer safety,” as they do for any federal, local, or state law enforcement agency, but has not and will not assist with immigration enforcement activities, the department said. Doing so is prohibited for local law enforcement in California under Senate Bill 54.
An ICE spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin said the civilian driver, who was in a white Nissan, screamed at the officer and tried to cause a collision.
“Our officers followed their training and activated emergency lights, exited their vehicle, identified themselves as law enforcement, and ordered the aggressive driver to stop. To defend himself, following the aggression of the driver and her refusal to follow law enforcement commands, our officer followed his training and drew his weapon. The driver fled the scene before local police arrived and is still at large,” McLaughlin said.
She said the interaction is part of a “growing… trend” of vehicles being used against agents. McLaughlin characterized the Fullerton officer’s response as a declination to help.
“A Fullerton police officer arrived at the scene but declined to help our law enforcement, stating it was an immigration matter. This is just another example of sanctuary policies undermining public safety by promoting lawlessness,” she said in a statement.
Santa Ana police were called to the scene after the ICE agent reported that he was being followed and requested law enforcement assistance, the department said. Santa Ana police were dispatched around the same time the Fullerton officer came to the scene. When their officers arrived, the agent, Fullerton police officer and woman had all left. The department reiterated it does not assist federal agencies such as ICE with immigration enforcement efforts.