In a recent escalation of events, a senior official within the Chicago Police Department prohibited officers from attending to federal agents’ appeals for assistance, as reported by CPD radio communications. This incident unfolded on Saturday in Brighton Park, amidst growing tensions.
CPD Chief of Patrol Jon Hein instructed city officers to vacate the vicinity while tensions mounted following an incident where a woman was shot by Border Patrol agents, as relayed by supervisors in recorded radio transmissions.
Around 10:30 a.m., a woman contacted 911, alleging that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent had shot her in the 3900 block of South Kedzie, based on CPD dispatch logs. Initially, Chicago officers responded to the scene, where federal agents asserted that the woman was brandishing a firearm and was part of a caravan trying to impede ICE activities. Preliminary reports indicate she was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with gunshot wounds to her legs, arm, and chest.
On Saturday evening, the Department of Homeland Security identified the woman as Marimar Martinez, claiming she “was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and has a record of doxxing federal agents. She engaged in defensive fire with CBP agents, has since been released from the hospital, and is now under the custody of the FBI.”
The DHS also revealed that Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, the driver of another vehicle implicated in the ramming incident, had been apprehended.
Following the shooting, protests broke out in the area.
“As our ICE law enforcement was responding to the shooting, a domestic terrorist followed them and rammed their vehicle in an attempt to run them off the road. This individual has also been arrested and is now in HSI custody,” added the DHS in a statement.
Social media has circulated video footage depicting an SUV repeatedly colliding into the rear of an unmarked Border Patrol pickup truck as both vehicles traveled south on Kedzie Avenue near 36th Place. The pickup’s emergency lights were active as the SUV struck it multiple times. Both vehicles subsequently accelerated south, moving against the flow of traffic.
After passing under a viaduct, the SUV forced the Border Patrol vehicle into a curb at 3700 South Kedzie, raising dust from ongoing construction. The driver of the SUV continued to accelerate toward the pickup, even as an agent emerged from the truck, seemingly aiming a firearm.
A second federal vehicle soon arrived, ramming the SUV from behind as more agents exited. The SUV then rapidly surged forward, bouncing several times before coming to a halt in a construction zone.
It remains uncertain whether the video footage is associated with the shooting or if it depicts a separate occurrence.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., a CPD supervisor in the Deering (9th) District instructed dispatchers to “clear all city police units from the shooting investigation and relinquish the scene to federal authorities.”
“That’s per the chief,” the supervisor noted.
“That’s per the chief of what? ICE?” a dispatcher inquired.
“Chief of patrol, squad,” the supervisor responded, referring to CPD Chief of Patrol Jon Hein.
The supervisor mentioned that one CPD unit would remain on-site to document a traffic incident related to the shooting, during which a firearm was recovered from the involved vehicle.
“And if she needs help, we absolutely help our own, alright? If you need resources, we’ll send you whatever you need,” the supervisor emphasized.
Shortly before noon, the supervisor updated dispatch: “Yes, per the Chief of Patrol, we have all pulled out. All CPD resources are clear from the scene on California and Kedzie.”
Only half an hour later, federal agents requested assistance from CPD near 39th Place and Kedzie.
A dispatcher relayed an agent’s report indicating “he’s one of about 30 armed Border Patrol agents, ICE. They’re being surrounded by a large crowd of people [and he is] requesting CPD. They don’t see any weapons in the crowd.”
“If you can immediately head down to 39th Place and Kedzie, please, and assist them,” the dispatcher urged units as they departed the station. “I’m viewing the [cameras], and there are numerous vehicles.”
Although those CPD units responded, they halted a few blocks short of where agents indicated they were encircled, following supervisory instructions. Approximately five minutes later, they were ordered to depart.
“Just to confirm,” a dispatcher asked, “they were stating they were being surrounded by that large crowd and were requesting the police, and we’re not sending?”
“Again, those are the orders we’re receiving,” the supervisor replied.
This shooting incident marked at least the second occasion within the week where CPD supervisors had directed officers to refrain from engaging with federal enforcement actions around ICE. On Wednesday, following the detention of a man by Border Patrol agents at a West Side traffic crash scene, CPD officers initially responded but were later instructed to distance themselves.
“The [crashed] car can sit in the middle of the street,” one supervisor remarked. “As long as we’re not over there, it’s all that matters.”
