ICE agents told cops driver swerved at them, Utah police say. Video shows he did not
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made inaccurate and inconsistent statements to officers after an incident with a Utah driver, police say.
ICE agents requested the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake’s help with a traffic stop in Millcreek just after 8 a.m. on Jan. 26, the department said in a Feb. 4 news release.
When officers arrived at the intersection, they could not find the agents, police said.
After speaking with dispatch, the officers found the agents about a half-mile south in the city of Murray, police said.
ICE agents told officers the driver “swerved toward them with his vehicle,” police said. Officers tried to clarify the charges with the ICE agents, but they did not provide “a clear response,” according to police.
At some point, the driver was handcuffed, police said.
Officers found it concerning and advised the handcuffs be removed, according to police.
The driver, “who appeared emotional,” told officers that he yelled and honked at the agents, but did not swerve his car toward them, police said.
The agents asked officers to give the driver a citation, police said.
Since the officers did not see the incident, they said “agents would need to sign as complainants and testify in court,” police said.
Officers got statements from the agents, but two of the three refused to give a written statement, according to police.
Instead of filing charges against the driver, the ICE agents suggested officers issue “a citation for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle,” police said.
The officers did so and let the driver go, police said.
However, upon reviewing surveillance video from nearby businesses the following day, officers found it “did not show the driver swerving toward the ICE agents,” police said.
As such, police dismissed the driver’s citation, the release said.
Police said they contacted ICE officials about concerns over “the inaccuracies and inconsistencies in their agents’ statements.”
In an emailed statement to McClatchy News, an ICE Spokesperson said the agency “stresses integrity and ethical behavior, and the vast majority of ICE employees perform their duties with professionalism and honor.”
“ICE takes very seriously all allegations of employee misconduct,” the spokesperson said. “Any allegations of misconduct are investigated by the appropriate agencies, and any employee who has committed provable misconduct, will be held accountable.”
The spokesperson went on to say the agency works with other law enforcement agencies to swiftly investigate “when allegations of criminal conduct by an employee are suspected or alleged.”
In an email to McClatchy News, Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini said to look to a Salt Lake Tribune article about his email to the agency, saying it “accurately describes my position” on the matter.
After a video of the encounter went viral, Silvestrini emailed the agency two days after the incident, saying the agents “trampled the rights” of a U.S. citizen, according to the email obtained by the newspaper.
He went on to say the agency needs to investigate the matter and that “video evidence shows accusations the federal officers made about the man they stopped were ‘demonstrably false,’” the newspaper reported.
Millcreek is about a 10-mile drive southeast from Salt Lake City.
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM with the headline "ICE agents told cops driver swerved at them, Utah police say. Video shows he did not."
