Police referred clash with feds to U.S. Attorney’s office

Emails obtained by Evanston Now show Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart said she would forward evidence of the Oct. 31 clash between federal border patrol agents and Evanston residents to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division.

Initially, in an email sent at 6:55 p.m. on Oct. 31, Stewart told City Manager Luke Stowe and members of the City Council that her initial review of the footage, which included “third-party footage showing two unidentified individuals, believed to be U.S. Border Patrol agents, using physical force, including closed-hand strikes, against civilians during the incident,” would be referred to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for independent review.

But in a follow-up email the next day, Stewart wrote that after review of additional footage, “I believe this matter does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.”

Instead, Stewart said she would refer the documentation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division.

The same email thread, obtained by Evanston Now through a Freedom of Information Act request, includes an email in which Stewart describes EPD’s analysis of the violent interaction with federal agents at the corner of Oakton and Asbury on Halloween.

The incident, included in police reports and a crash report also obtained by Evanston Now through FOIA, involved a civilian car crashing into a federal government vehicle.

Police reports describe federal agents telling EPD officers that they believed the civilian vehicle was “trailing” them before crashing. Witnesses on the scene, including a bystander detained by border patrol and driven around for hours before being released without charges, say the border patrol agents had caused the crash by slamming on their brakes.

The police report doesn’t place blame on either party, but EPD did obtain the driver’s license and name of one border patrol agent, an Arizonan named Timothy Donahue, according to a crash report.

Stewart’s Oct. 31 email to Stowe and the City Council describes EPD meeting with border patrol agents and obtaining an agent’s “call sign,” which was previously reported by Evanston Now.

Stewart also describes a moment when Mayor Daniel Biss arrived on scene, captured on video as well, that shows him approaching and appearing to argue with EPD before attempting to speak with the federal agents before they drove off with three civilians in custody.

“Mayor Biss expressed concern that EPD had assisted federal agents,” Stewart wrote in an Oct. 31 email. “EPD explained that the department had limited information at the time and that federal agents, when operating under lawful authority, cannot be detained or delayed by local police.”

In another email, Stewart asked elected officials to “refrain from publicly criticizing EPD Staff as we continue our efforts to recruit, retain and maintain a positive and professional environment during this challenging time.”

Stewart called “public comments suggesting EPD is supporting immigration enforcement” as “deeply troubling to me and our officers.”

EPD’s police report includes a statement from federal agents that says they had placed the civilians “under arrest” and were transporting them to the FBI field office in Chicago.

The Department of Homeland Security claims the man punched in the back of the head by an agent, had “grabbed the agent’s genitals and wouldn’t let go.”

A video which shows the encounter shows the man handcuffed and face down on the ground with his hands on his side before the agent begins punching him.

A group of organizations suing the Trump administration in federal court also accuses the agents of violating a federal judge’s temporary restraining order when agents allegedly threatened to shoot a bystander.

Jennifer Moriarty, one of the three civilians detained by agents, said she was never informed she was under arrest, never booked at the FBI field office and was released without charges later that day.

Moriarty spoke at Monday’s City Council meeting in a rebuke of EPD, saying, “we were assaulted and abducted under no color of law on Halloween midday. Not a single Evanston police officer came to our aid. Not a single officer came and asked us if we needed medical attention.”

“All they did was clear the scene and allow these men to kidnap three citizens,” Moriarty said. “Three community members of this town. And not one of them stopped it.”

Stewart wrote she had planned to refer the footage and reports, in line with the city’s updated guidance for dealing with interactions with federal law enforcement, “to determine whether the federal agents’ actions exceeded lawful use-of-force standards or constitute potential criminal or civil violations.”