ICE agents detain man in Albany Park; SUV believed to be driven by agent hits sedan stuck in traffic
One person was detained by ICE agents in Albany Park on Tuesday morning, causing chaos and panic on a city street. One woman's car was hit by what's believed to be an agent's SUV as she was stuck in traffic.
One witness said the man who was arrested was handcuffed on the ground when agents shocked him with a Taser.
"I will say they had three agents with the man on the ground in handcuffs, already in control, when they did fire that Taser at him," said Chicago Sun-Times reporter Violet Miller, who went to the scene after hearing reports of ICE activity. "They very much had him under control and in handcuffs at the time the Taser was deployed."
Ellyzabeth Adler was walking her 6-year-old daughter, Miriam, to school when they witnessed ICE agents arresting a man near the intersection of Kedzie and Lawrence avenues.
"This person looked up at the sky and started smiling. For whatever reason, he was happy. I looked up at the sky, too, and I was like, 'Wow, it's a beautiful day.' And then, out of nowhere, this black SUV pulls up," she said.
Adler saw the man in a struggle with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as they tried to detain him. At some point, his shirt was removed.
"Two unmarked cars coming down Kedzie cross halfway, and they were right behind us, and I'm hearing Miriam saying, 'Mommy, what's going on? They're taking his shirt off. That's not kind. Why are they taking his shirt off? He has no shirt on,'" she said. "My instincts was like, 'Get my 6-year-old out of the way, because I was afraid of what was going to happen."
As agents were detaining the man, neighbors recorded video and blew whistles to warn others of ICE activity in the area.
Alder said coming upon a scene like this was something she'd been bracing for after agents were seen using tear gas and arresting people in Albany Park last fall.
As she and her daughter walked away, Adler said she heard a crash.
"I can't say how it happened, but I do know that the police were there investigating it," she said.
Another witness said the sound was a federal vehicle colliding with a blue sedan. Witnesses said the man ICE agents were struggling with tried to get away before agents used an SUV to block the road.
"That agent hit that vehicle to stop him from running past it," Miller said. "During that scuffle, one of the agents had dropped a full magazine for his sidearm, and it had gotten kicked to the side of the curb on the other side of the street. Later, an officer came back by to pick it up."
Chicago police confirmed they were called to the scene after an SUV headed west on Lawrence Avenue hit another vehicle stuck in traffic, but did not confirm an agent was driving the SUV.
Police said the driver of the SUV fled the scene. The driver of the sedan was not injured in the crash.
Witnesses said the man who struggled with federal agents was taken into custody by ICE. One witness said he was shocked with a Taser after being handcuffed. That witness noted no other bystanders were tased, teargassed, or arrested.
CBS News Chicago has reached out ICE to ask why the man was arrested, and whether an ICE agent was driving the SUV involved in the crash, but has yet to receive a response.
