A 911 call for a local kidnapping in Los Angeles, or LA, quickly turned upside down after the Los Angeles Police Department ended up helping the “kidnappers” themselves. It turns out the “kidnappers” were federal immigration agents conducting an operation in the area, though the 911 callers and bystanders were alarmed because they didn’t present any IDs or badges.
The incident took place around 9:10 AM on June 24; LAPD promptly responded to a 9-1-1 call of a possible kidnapping in 9th and Spring streets in LA. According to the press release, several individuals who refused to identify themselves were attempting to detain people. The police arrived on the scene soon afterward, and an agitated crowd had gathered in the area.
Upon their arrival, however, a person who identified themselves as a federal agent took control of the situation and also took away handcuffed a woman who approached the LAPD earlier. Apparently, the LAPD backed off and proceeded to simply control the traffic and the crowd so it wouldn’t escalate into a riot. Meanwhile, the suspects who were initially identified as “kidnappers” now carried out their operation as federal agents.
“LAPD’s role was not involved in her detention or arrest. LAPD’s role was limited to maintaining order and public safety. Officers remained on scene to de-escalate tensions, move pedestrians out of the roadway, and allow emergency vehicles safe passage.
The Federal agets did not notify LAPD of their planned enforcement activity in advance. The Department responded based solely on the initial radio call reporting a potential kidnapping. No arrests were made by LAPD” explained LAPD in their press release
So if it wasn’t clear already, LAPD chose to be hands-off, except for the part where they also escorted the “federal agents'” escape vehicles out of the agitated neighborhood. Thankfully, some of the bystanders captured footage of the incident, showing how the LAPD essentially shielded the unidentified “federal agents” from the crowd, courtesy of uniondelbarrio:
Some witnesses, however, pointed out that the kidnappers were allegedly ICE, and some of them even kept questioning the “federal agents” as to why they were disappearing people without any identification, license plates, or badges, though some of them wore police vests.
Unexpected or Expected?
It’s not clear exactly what happened between federal immigration agencies, ICE, and state police departments, but the LAPD notably either couldn’t or didn’t want to take any action. Such a stance has since made people worried, given how easily the “federal agents” nabbed the people, which was then made easier by the presence of local police.
Some people have argued that driving around with no plates or ID would get most people in trouble, and federal agents should be required to identify themselves or at least present badges. While praises were sung for how quickly the LAPD responded, their handling of the scene was not exactly a good look.
“This is exactly what should happen when people claiming to be federal agents fail to identify themselves,” says TheEdgeofGoon
“Nothing? Because that’s what happened. The police should be stopping them from detaining folks until they produce id and warrants. Otherwise they’re openly allowing kidnapping,” responds Xe1ex
“It’s a damning story. This has to stop. These masked unidentified individuals are destroying public trust, and ultimately undermining the entire system. There are a lot of other reasons why this has to be shut down, but this one will do for a start . And whoever authorized it should be fired at a minimum,” criticizes profspeakin
“I guess you can now just claim to be a federal agent and get away with kidnapping, assault, and battery,” fears Intelligent-Pea3621
