Federal agents were involved in a high-speed chase down a residential street in the East Side neighborhood Tuesday morning, resulting in a crash with a moving vehicle and a foot chase with the occupants in the car.
Federal agents then deployed tear gas to disperse a large crowd that gathered in protest of the federal agents, and forcibly detained several protesters.
Details of what led to the crash near 105th Street and Avenue N were not immediately released, but security video shared with the Sun-Times appears to show federal agents in a white SUV tailing a red SUV before colliding into the rear end of the car, causing the car to spin out.
After the red vehicle stopped, the driver and passenger can be seen falling out of the car and fleeing the scene in different directions while being chased on foot by three federal agents who jumped out of the white SUV.
A crowd of people gathered at the crash scene in protest. Federal agents could be seen spraying tear gas at protesters before leaving the scene about an hour later. At least four protesters were detained.
Federal authorities did not immediately comment. An official with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement deferred an inquiry to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The fire department could not be reached.
A Chicago police spokesperson said officers responded about 11:05 a.m. to a call of a car accident involving federal authorities.
Officers documented the crash and did not assist the federal operation, police said. Officers stayed at the scene to try to de-escalate tensions between protesters and federal agents.
Some protesters threw objects at federal agents, causing the federal agents to deploy tear gas into the street. Thirteen CPD members were exposed to tear gas, according to police.
Federal immigration enforcement agents detain someone after a car crash in the East Side neighborhood Tuesday.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Federal immigration enforcement agents detain someone Tuesday after a car crash in the East Side neighborhood.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Federal immigration enforcement agents deploy tear gas Tuesday after a car crash in the East Side neighborhood.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
A resident washes their face with water after federal immigration enforcement agents deployed tear gas Tuesday after a car crash in the East Side neighborhood.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Federal immigration enforcement agents detain someone Tuesday after a car crash in the East Side neighborhood.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Federal immigration enforcement agents detain someone Tuesday after a car crash in the East Side neighborhood.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
In a statement, local State Sen. Elgie Sims said he was monitoring the situation and called the use of chemical agents in his district, “unjust.”
“No person should be targeted by the color of their skin and no group should be attacked for standing up for what is right,” Sims said. “Let me be clear: Now is not the time for hate and divisiveness. Now is the time to stand united as a community and to protect our neighbors.”
Destiny Salazar, 20, came to protest the immigration blitz after the crash. A protester in the crowd threw something at agents, and agents threw tear gas canisters into the crowd, she said. She, along with much of the crowd, turned around to run away from the chemical irritants.
When she looked back, she saw her 16-year-old cousin and 19-year-old boyfriend “slammed to the ground” and handcuffed by masked federal agents.
“I was screaming ‘ICE let him go,’” she said. She heard her boyfriend saying, “My neck, my neck, my neck,” and said the federal agent continued adding pressure.
Both were taken in a vehicle, and Salazar and friends were tracking their phone locations as they moved around the city.
Salazar said neither her cousin nor her boyfriend threw anything at the agents.
“I don’t think anyone should be going through this,” she said, through sobs.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
