Some first responders and police in Western Washington say they have been confronted by members of the public who think they are ICE agents, and that these interactions have disrupted local investigations.
Bremerton’s fire department said in a Facebook post last month that their command trucks were mistaken for ICE vehicles.
“These misunderstandings have led to aggressive confrontations in public spaces, including threats made toward our members,” the department said.
Police in Vancouver, Washington, have posted descriptions of what officers wear on duty after people confronted officers during investigations three times within two weeks. In one instance, people interrupted surveillance of a homicide suspect.
The nonprofit Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network has issued a flyer that offers guidance and recommendations for bystanders and observers who want to film officers and immigration officials. The ACLU of Washington didn't make anyone available to answer questions in time for this story, instead referring KNKX to its website.
This comes as people are using whistles, car horns and recording videos of immigration officials in Minnesota and elsewhere using aggressive tactics to make arrests. Among those videos are ICE agents' fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. The observers want to alert neighbors, and to de-escalate ICE agents by monitoring their behavior.
Now, local law enforcement and first responders in many parts of the country are dealing with the ripple effect of the agents' deadly actions.
Vancouver Police Chief Troy Price said the interruptions to police work led him to post a video describing how to differentiate his officers from ICE agents.
“This is unheard of,” Price told KNKX. “This is not something we’ve had to manage before.”
In one instance, he said, officers conducting surveillance on a homicide suspect were suddenly surrounded by multiple vehicles. People got out of the cars and began recording on their phones, asking the officers who they were and what they were doing.
“When we’re there trying to take a very dangerous person into custody and then our attention is divided having to answer this person’s questions, we say, ‘Listen, we’re not who you are looking for today, but this is still a bad idea,’” Price said.
The police department is now taking such actions into consideration when making plans to arrest someone, Price said, adding that interruptions can give suspects an opening to escape, assault officers or take someone hostage.
“People do interesting things when they're forced into a desperate situation, and they have to make a decision on the spur of a moment," Price said.
Price said he believes these actions are being fueled by fear and people’s lives being upended by immigration enforcement. He hopes that "as the community continues to show interest, that we begin to look about 2,300 miles to the east of us, in Washington, D.C., where the policymakers and the lawmakers are that can affect federal law enforcement."
Residents in cities such as Vancouver, Tacoma and Lakewood can call 3-1-1 to find out which law enforcement agency is involved with police activity.
