A restaurant worker in Minnesota is going viral right now for making a rather bold claim that he saw a uniformed police officer performing the “duties” of ICE despite assurances from authorities that police won’t be aiding them. Apparently, the police officer ordered some food but then immediately put on a ski mask and left after seeing a brown person outside the restaurant. The masked cop then chased the brown person, profiling him for potential detention in an ICE facility.
This particular allegation came from TikTok user Eric Nathaniel from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who posted his claims on January 7th. Sadly, Nathaniel failed to capture footage of the cop, though to his credit, it appears the incident was rather abrupt. According to Nathaniel, the cop profiled the brown person, whom he assumed was Hispanic, though after finding out that the latter was a legal citizen, the cop let them go.
“I think he just wanted to eat, but didnt want to waste the opportunity of 1k dollars a head,” thought Nathaniel, which he revealed in the comment section of the video. The bigger worry from Nathaniel, and perhaps other witnesses present in the restaurant, is that, “I was told by the Chief of Police on TV that they weren’t gonna be working with ICE.” Then seeing a supposed police officer do exactly the opposite raises concerns.
People online are voicing their distrust
“I think he was trying to moonlight for the bounty $, knowing the federal government would punish any Police station for punishing a officer for doing this,” adds the TikTok user. The TikTok user, however, seems intent on actually finding out who the police officer was based on the restaurant’s security footage, “I am actually gonna contact someone. I want a answer. I do have the security footage from inside. I can get his identity 100%.”
The TikTok user’s video and allegations have since gone viral, particularly on other platforms like X/Twitter, where it has racked up almost a million views at the time of writing. People online remain skeptical about Nathaniel’s claims, with one commenter even questioning, “Maybe they were legal citizens committing another crime???? Does that ever occur to people like you?!?” though that doesn’t explain why the cop needed to wear a ski mask before confronting someone.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel was referring to statements from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who stressed publicly that law enforcement will not be aiding ICE or federal agents who enforce immigration policies. In turn, the Minneapolis Police Chief also promised something similar, which is why the TikTok user’s allegation is making people scratch their heads.
“Forget the ‘tough’ talk from Frey, Waltz and police chief. They are all working with DHS, ICE,” rants an angry commenter. Some have argued, “That incident needs to be investigated,” while others have already resigned themselves to distrusting law enforcement officers, “Never trust the cops. You already know better.”
