Men Posing As Ice Agents Detained And Assaulted Driver During Fake Traffic Stop, Police Say

State and national officials said they are investigating aft a group of masked men impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulled complete and assaulted a migrant successful Oregon.

The incident, nan latest successful a drawstring of crimes committed by alleged ICE impersonators, took spot betwixt 3:30 and 5 p.m. connected July 17 adjacent Woodburn successful Clackamas County, southbound of Portland.

The brushwood began erstwhile nan driver saw an SUV down them move connected red and bluish emergency-style lights and pulled into a turnout.

“Two men exited nan fishy vehicle, 1 of whom was equipped pinch a rifle,” Oregon State Police said successful a statement. “The suspects identified themselves arsenic ‘ICE’ and told nan unfortunate they were being detained. The unfortunate was forcibly removed from their vehicle, searched, and placed into nan backmost spot of nan suspects' vehicle.”

Inside, a 3rd individual assaulted nan driver, constabulary said. The unfortunate was released astir 20 minutes later.

The suspects were described arsenic wearing boots, shot caps, look coverings, and greenish long-sleeved shirts, arsenic good arsenic tactical vests marked ‘POLICE.’

The FBI confirmed to The Independent it is jointly investigating nan incident pinch authorities constabulary but declined further comment, citing its argumentation connected ongoing investigations.

The Independent has contacted nan authorities constabulary for comment.

The unfortunate later sought aesculapian curen for injuries sustained successful nan incident, authorities constabulary said. While astatine a section hospital, nan individual began getting matter messages from a number claiming to beryllium from a rule patient offering ineligible services successful consequence to nan alleged assault.

A telephone to nan aforesaid number by The Independent went consecutive to voicemail.

The Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, a section defense group, said successful a connection connected Saturday connected Facebook that an “immigrant organization member” was nan unfortunate of nan incident, and that nan alleged battle was reported to nan group connected its hotline nan time it occurred.

The group said it was unaware until authorities constabulary described nan incident that nan onslaught had “been carried astir by impersonators and not by ICE themselves.”

“This reveals nan truth migrant communities and advocates person agelong known: location is very small visible quality betwixt ICE kidnapping someone, and equipped backstage kidnappers,” nan group wrote.

ICE agents person look wide disapproval for their usage of masks, civilian apparel and unmarked cars because specified strategies tin make it harder to easy place members of rule enforcement and easier to impersonate them, which is simply a national crime. During its large-scale operations successful cities crossed nan U.S. past year, ICE and nan Border Patrol regularly carried retired warrantless stops and detentions.

ICE impersonators, meanwhile, person been accused of rape, terrorizing business owners, kidnapping and false postulation stops.

The agency’s strategies are again nether nan spotlight aft a brace of fatal shootings this period successful Texas and Maine.

In Houston, an supplier killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national, arsenic officers tailed his van successful unmarked vehicles successful an cognition targeting personification else. Salgado Araujo’s brother, who was successful nan van, claims they were unaware rule enforcement was chasing them.