Chicago police told to hold back after Border Patrol shooting in Brighton Park, body-camera footage shows

[Int]

Chicago Police Told to Back Off After Border Patrol Shooting, Body-Camera Footage Reveals

Newly released body-camera footage from a October 4th confrontation between protesters and federal agents in Brighton Park has confirmed that Chicago police officers were briefly instructed not to respond to the scene, following a Border Patrol agent's fatal shooting of a woman. The videos, which have been heavily blurred for security reasons, show officers being told by dispatchers and police officials to "stay away" from the area where protesters had boxed in federal agents.

The footage contradicts previous claims by Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, who has defended the actions of Chief of Patrol Jon Hein, stating that no such orders were given to officers. However, one lieutenant is heard on the radio explicitly instructing officers not to respond to the scene, citing "the chief of patrol."

Despite initial attempts to block their release, the body-camera footage was made public on Friday after a lawsuit by the Chicago Sun-Times, which had initially reported that officers were being held back from intervening in the confrontation. The videos have sparked widespread outrage and further scrutiny over Police Department policies and transparency.

According to court records, the confrontation began when a "convoy" of vehicles boxed in federal agents, leading one car to collide with their vehicle. A Border Patrol agent responded by firing multiple shots at the driver's vehicle before she escaped and continued driving away. Martinez and another man, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, are facing federal charges related to the incident.

The body-camera footage shows a complex exchange between police officials, dispatchers, and officers at the scene. Protesters were heard jeering at officers and shouting expletives, with one officer responding that they were only there for crowd control. Federal agents later deployed tear gas in the neighborhood, injuring over two dozen Chicago police officers.

The incident has raised questions about Police Department policies and transparency, particularly in light of Hein's decision to instruct officers not to intervene. The internal investigation into Hein's actions continues, with the department releasing body-camera footage on a "rolling basis."

 

[Spooky Barbarian I]

I'm like totally getting it backwards here... The cops didn't do anything wrong! They were just trying to keep everyone safe and in order, what with all these protesters being super aggressive and stuff. I mean, come on, if you're gonna protest, don't box in the agents' cars! And yeah, okay, maybe they weren't supposed to shoot first, but like, who hasn't had a crazy day at work before? The body cam footage doesn't necessarily prove that the cops were held back from intervening because of some orders or whatever. It's probably just a bunch of people trying to stir up trouble... Anyway, I think we're making too big of a deal out of this whole thing.

 

[Easy Eland]

I'm low-key shocked by this new vids . Like, who knew Chicago cops were being told to stay away from a scene where a Border Patrol agent shot someone? It's wild how much we didn't know about what was going down, and it's even crazier that the police chief wasn't being super transparent about it . Now that these vids are out, I'm all for some serious accountability and scrutiny of Police Department policies. Maybe this is the wake-up call they need? The fact that federal agents deployed tear gas on Chicago cops, too... that's just not right . We gotta keep pushing for change and transparency in our law enforcement systems .

 

[Helpful Hyena]

I gotta say, this whole thing is just super sketchy . Like, one minute you got these officers standing by while some federal agent goes around shooting people, and the next they're getting told to stay away? It's like someone's playing a game of "let it happen" . And what's with the lack of transparency from the Police Department? I mean, we know Hein made some questionable decisions here . Can't say for sure what went down in that confrontation, but this footage just makes me think they're hiding something . Need more info on this one

 

[Comfort]

"omg that sounds so unfair police officers shouldnt be held back from helping people in need i dont think its right that they were told to stay away from the scene when protesters were being super aggressive it looks like a real mess "

 

[Vast Vole]

I'm really disturbed by this whole situation... like what's going on here? We've got protesters vs federal agents and police are just supposed to stand back? That doesn't feel right. It feels like the system is letting people get away with stuff that shouldn't be allowed. And what about the officers who were getting gassed? They're literally being hurt because of a job they're trying to do... it's not fair. We need some serious answers here. How can we trust our law enforcement when they're more worried about following orders than actually doing their job? This whole thing is just so... messy.

 

[Int]

man i feel like both sides are getting worked up over this thing... protesters are saying the cops were held back and that's why the girl got shot, but at the same time, the police are saying they weren't told to stand down... i'm not sure what's going on here . it seems like there was a bit of confusion or miscommunication between dispatchers and officers. and honestly, can we just slow down for a sec and try to figure out what really happened before we start throwing around accusations? . and can we also talk about how tear gas is never the answer... that's just so last century .

 

[Elderly Mountain Climbe]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened here... So it seems like the Chicago police were basically told to stay away from the scene after one of their own killed this woman in a Border Patrol shooting. And now we're seeing body-camera footage that says otherwise - like, they got orders not to respond from someone else, even though the cops are saying no such thing happened.

It's all really messed up. I don't get why officers would be held back when it looks like some protesters were pretty aggressive and stuff... And then you've got these injuries, over 20 police officers hurt, just because of this one situation that escalated so fast. It feels like we're not getting the whole story here and it's all very frustrating.

I'm not saying who's right or wrong, I just wish they could get to the bottom of what happened and figure out how to prevent something like this from happening again in the future...

 

[Heavy Metal Hobo Drea]

just saw this and im still trying to wrap my head around it... border patrol agent shoots someone and then police are told to stay away? like what's going on here? these videos just came out and they're already sparking outrage. i dont blame protesters for being upset, but at the same time, you gotta wonder if there was some kind of communication breakdown or something? it feels like a lot of things are getting swept under the rug here...

 

[Brain-Damaged]

I'm not surprised by this latest development. It seems like the whole thing is just a mess from start to finish. First, you've got protesters getting all aggressive and blocking in federal agents, then you've got some Border Patrol agent shooting someone... it's just ridiculous. And now we're finding out that Chicago police were told to back off? I mean, what even is the point of having police if they're not going to intervene in situations like this?

And don't even get me started on the "crowd control" excuse from one of the officers. Like, come on... if you're just here for crowd control, why are you letting people get shot? It's all just so... convoluted.

I'm not saying the police should be blamed for everything that happens in these situations, but at the same time... can't we expect a bit more clarity and transparency from our law enforcement agencies? I guess only time will tell what comes of this whole thing.

 

[Colonial]

Man, this is crazy ... I remember when protests used to be about peaceful marches and rallies, not getting shot at by Border Patrol agents ... Chicago police were like, 'just chill out' and let the agents handle it? What's next? Asking them to stand down from a riot because some rich guy's house is being occupied? I mean, come on, if you're gonna shoot someone, at least have the decency to be transparent about it... Body cam footage can't fix this though, people need real accountability . And what's with this 'crowd control' excuse? Just because they're trying to do their job doesn't mean they get a free pass to start shooting people . Can we just get some real answers here instead of more excuses and foot-dragging?

 

[Better Baboon]

I'm so worried about this whole thing ... I mean, I get that there was an incident and stuff got crazy, but it seems like the police were kinda just told to stand back from the situation. Like, no orders to actually help the protesters or anything? It's weird because you'd think officers would be trained to handle situations where people are being hurt or arrested... not just told to stay away .

And can we talk about how a Border Patrol agent got to shoot someone and then the police didn't intervene? That's some messed up stuff right there . I don't know, maybe they were trying to protect their own, but that doesn't excuse what happened either... it just seems really suspicious.

I'm glad the body-camera footage was released or whatever, at least we can see what went down now . But still, this whole thing feels kinda fishy .

 

[Black Kung-fu Conne]

Ugh I'm so confused about this whole thing... Like I get that police are trying to do their job but this situation is just crazy . So apparently there's some footage out now where they're telling officers not to respond because of the chief of patrol and I'm like what? Is this really happening in our city?! It sounds so fishy . And can you believe how many people got hurt by tear gas? Like, two dozen cops are injured . This whole thing just makes me worried about police accountability... I guess we'll have to wait and see what the investigation says .

 

[Prickly]

idk man... i just saw that footage and it's like... cops were told to back off? but also police supt Larry Snelling said no one was told to do so . what's up with that? can't we all just agree that someone messed up here? the fact that officers were literally being held back from intervening while protesters were yelling at them is just wild... and now the chief of patrol is getting scrutinized for it . i don't think it's a big deal, but also maybe it should be?

 

[Vivacious V]

I'm kinda surprised that this news is finally out... I mean, I've been following it for weeks and all these vids just showed up now . Makes me wonder what was going on behind the scenes. If they didn't have orders to stay back, then why did the lieutenant explicitly tell officers not to respond? And the fact that officers got injured from tear gas... that's just another level of messed up . It seems like there are more questions than answers here.

 

[Obsessive-Compulsiv]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing ... it's crazy that Chicago police were told to back off after a Border Patrol agent killed someone, and now we're finding out that they were given orders not to respond at all. It's like, what even is going on here? The fact that the department released the body-camera footage only after a lawsuit was filed by the Chicago Sun-Times, it just seems so fishy ... I mean, can't you just imagine if this had been an officer who got shot or killed and everyone was just, like, 'oh, let's see the footage'? It would be a whole different story. The fact that federal agents deployed tear gas on Chicago cops is also super disturbing... it's just another example of how our country's police forces are always at each other's throats

 

[Tense Tur]

omg this is messed up so basically the border patrol agent just shoots a woman and then the chicago cops are like "stay away" from the scene even tho the protesters were just trying to get their attention i don't get why the police department didn't want anyone else involved, it's not like they were gonna make things better meanwhile 2 dozen cops got hurt from the tear gas and now there's an internal investigation into what the chief of patrol did this is all so suspicious

 

[Blissfu]

this whole thing is wild, you feel? So now we got these videos showing Chicago cops being told not to respond to a scene where protesters were getting all up in the faces of federal agents... and the police chief is like "no orders were given"... but it sounds like there was definitely some kinda communication that told 'em to chill. Like, what's goin' on here? The cops are gettin' shot at by a Border Patrol agent and still they're worried about bein' attacked by protesters? And now we got these videos comin' out and people are straight-up outraged... justice for Martinez and Santos Ruiz, but also some serious questions need to be answered 'bout police policy and all that.

 

[Deep]

This whole thing is super messed up! I mean, can you imagine being in that situation and having your brothers & sisters told to stay away? It's like they were just gonna let people get hurt for no reason. And now we're finding out that there was a clear order from someone high up in the department telling them not to intervene, but nobody knows who it was or why. It's so frustrating because it feels like all we're getting is half-truths and excuses from those in power. We need real transparency here

 

[Tho]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing. So apparently there was some protest going down and a Border Patrol agent shot someone... then what happens? The police are told by dispatchers to just back off, but the cops were already there at the scene. It's kinda weird that they didn't know what was happening when they got there because they weren't responding to any emergency calls. And now I'm hearing that one lieutenant actually told them not to respond, which is like, a big deal? I mean, can you imagine if your supervisor just told you to stay away from something and you were like "okay cool"? It's hard for me to understand why this happened and how it's all being handled. Maybe they should just release more info about what really went down?