Details emerge over Tuesday's clash between protesters and federal agents
Tensions boiled over as St. Paul police sprayed people with chemical agents on Tuesday after a crowd had gathered to stop an ICE operation at a residential home—but federal officers had already detained their target hours before. A standoff had begun, allowing a crowd to grow, because another man inside the home allegedly struck an ICE officer's car with his own.
Early Tuesday morning, ICE reported that officers arrested a man from Honduras who had allegedly re-entered the United States illegally. He was detained at a residence on the 600 block of Rose Avenue in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. According to a criminal complaint filed by ICE Deportation Officer Ben Jorgenson, it was during that operation that ICE pulled over a second man, Jeffrey Lopez-Suazo, who had left the same residence.
Jorgenson states that Lopez-Suazo ignored orders to stop, "squeezing" past the vehicles driven by ICE officers. Jorgenson noted that while they were unmarked, their "police lights" were activated on the cars. When Jorgenson pulled alongside Lopez-Suazo, he claims that Lopez-Suazo "suddenly jerked his vehicle to the left, striking the passenger side" of Jorgenson's car. From there, Lopez-Suazo went around the block and ran back inside the home. He would be detained hours later around noon, with the crowd that had gathered backing off to allow this to happen peacefully at the family's request. It was shortly after that the violent clash began between St. Paul Police and the remaining protesters.
On Wednesday, Lopez-Suazo appeared in federal court in St. Paul before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elsa Bullard, charged with assaulting a federal officer. The appearance primarily handled whether he would remain in custody; while his public defender argued that he has always cooperated with law enforcement in the past and had no criminal record, Judge Bullard ultimately sided with the prosecuting U.S. Attorney's office for the time being. Prosecutors argued he is a flight risk, stating in a detention motion that "he appears to not be a United States Citizen or lawful permanent resident."
Lopez-Suazo's family leaned on community organizer Mary Anne Quiroz to deliver a statement on their behalf, calling into question ICE's version of events and criticizing the way federal officers conducted themselves once Lopez-Suazo was back inside the home.
"Jeffrey was on his way to work and saw that there was ICE activity. Jeffrey fled out of fear, fear of never seeing his partner, his family, fear of being taken away from his loved ones. They want to blame Jeffrey for something he didn't do," Quiroz read aloud, "no one deserves to live the trauma that Jeffrey and the family have experienced. Children and a pregnant woman spent five hours under threats, humiliation by HSI agents, mockery and invasion of property."
Lopez-Suazo will remain in custody until his joint preliminary and detention hearings, currently scheduled for Dec. 3.
After he was detained, protesters followed St. Paul Police officers as they moved away from the home. Chief Axel Henry stated that officers were first called to the scene to provide crowd control measures after hearing reports that protesters were allegedly arming themselves with sticks and rocks; officers arrived wearing gas masks and military style gear. WCCO crews witnessed officers firing various kinds of chemical agents at protesters, injuring multiple people who needed medical attention.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists said that police hurt three credentialed photographers on scene.
"At least three local photojournalists were injured by less-lethal munitions deployed by St. Paul police officers while covering the story. One was transported to the hospital in an ambulance. All three journalists were clearly identified as press with badges and/or vests, in addition to having cameras in hand, clearly at work. All three photojournalists and multiple other local journalists on scene were also injured by chemical irritants," the organization said in part, "we demand answers from St. Paul city leadership about why the city's police department attacked our colleagues and a commitment to seeing that this will never happen again.
Chief Henry sent an updated press statement on Wednesday, declining to make himself available for an interview.
"We are committed to a thorough review. This consists of viewing hundreds of hours of body camera footage, as well as footage being shared by community members," the statement reads in part, "We are also actively seeking to arrange meetings with local law enforcement leaders and federal law enforcement to create sustainable prevention strategies for our city and the rest of the state."