By Trendsetter Tribune 
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley on Tuesday accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of committing serious civil rights violations, alleging that officers of color — including off-duty police — were stopped at gunpoint and pressured to prove their citizenship.
Speaking at a press conference alongside other law enforcement leaders, Bruley said complaints have surged over the past two weeks from U.S. citizens who claim they were stopped without cause and ordered to show immigration documents. According to the chief, those reports soon began coming from within police departments themselves.
Bruley described one incident in which ICE agents allegedly boxed in an off-duty Brooklyn Park officer, demanded proof of legal status, and knocked her phone away when she tried to record the encounter. He said a firearm was drawn during the stop, despite the officer being a U.S. citizen with no requirement to carry immigration papers.
Only after the woman identified herself as a police officer did the agents disengage and leave the scene, Bruley said, without explanation or apology.
“All of the officers affected were people of color,” Bruley noted, adding that similar incidents involving off-duty officers had been reported by other police chiefs standing with him.
While emphasizing that he does not support abolishing ICE, Bruley said he strongly opposes enforcement tactics that he believes violate constitutional rights. He warned that if trained law enforcement officers are being treated this way, ordinary community members may be facing even worse.
“If it’s happening to our officers,” he said, “it’s painful to imagine how often it’s happening to the public. This has to stop.”