A call for accountability from law enforcement following alleged federal racial profiling during local immigration enforcements.
Those law enforcement leaders from across the Twin Cities are coming together to denounce what they describe as a 'recent surge in civil rights violations' by a subset of federal agents.
They cited reports of residents and even off-duty officers of color being boxed-in and held at gunpoint without cause.
"We have to find common ground here and we have to figure out a way that these processes, which are clearly failing if American citizens are being grabbed or stopped or seized," St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said.
While the group says they support lawful immigration enforcement, they warn that these aggressive tactics are eroding decades of community trust.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley told reporters Tuesday morning that in the past they have worked well with federal agents, and support the fundamental idea of deporting dangerous illegal immigrants.
He adds, however, what's happening now is not the same thing, adding one of his officers, who is a woman of color, was pulled over by ICE agents.
"When they boxed her in, they demanded her paperwork, of which she's a U.S. citizen and clearly would not have any paperwork," said Chief Bruley. "When she became concerned about the rhetoric and the way she was being treated, she pulled out her phone in an attempt to record the incident. The phone was knocked out of her hands. Prevented her from recording it."
Bruley says once she told them she was a police officer, they left without apologizing for the mistake.
"The officers had their guns drawn during this interaction," Bruley adds. "And after the officer became so concerned, they were forced to identify themselves as a Brooklyn Park police officer in hopes of slowing the incident and de-escalating the incident down. The agents then immediately left after hearing this, making no other comments, no other apologies. Just got in their vehicles and left."