West St. Paul Police Ease Tensions as ICE Chased Suspect After Hit and Run

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There was a heavy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence this morning near Moreland and Stryker in West St. Paul, following a hit-and-run incident.

“It was a little tense at first,” admitted West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Sturgeon. “[But] everybody cooperated once we got on the scene. We de-escalated everything and they allowed us to take over the investigation.”

What happened:

• ICE tried to detain someone near Logan and Stryker. The person fled in their vehicle, allegedly striking an ICE agent. According to police, there were very minor injuries and the agent did not want medical attention.
• ICE agents chased the suspect and believe he fled into a home near Moreland and Stryker.
• When West St. Paul police arrived, ICE agents were talking with the homeowner. The police convinced ICE to let them take over the investigation, and the homeowner agreed to let the police search the home. The suspect was not found in the home.

What’s next: The West St. Paul Police are investigating this as a hit-and-run incident. They have the suspect’s car impounded and it’s an ongoing investigation.

Who: ICE had a civil detainer to apprehend the suspect for deportation. The person was in the country illegally, though police had no details about the individual’s background.

Cooperation: Sturgeon said he was surprised ICE called them, noting it was only the third time they had done so (the other two times were a gun incident and a case of observers following ICE vehicles, which is not illegal and the police did not respond).

• “It was nice to see that they worked with us to ease tensions,” Sturgeon said.

Neighborhood response: A dozen or more observers showed up on the scene, recording the incident, which lasted 30 to 40 minutes.

• “The homeowner handled it wonderfully and a lot of neighbors exchanged phone numbers,” said Dustin, a neighbor who asked us not to share his last name. “We are now planning a neighborhood meeting for tomorrow to discuss how to better support our neighbors in need.”
• “Our presence there, it certainly was a calming effect,” Strugeon said. “Many of those individuals thanked us for being there and appreciated it after ICE left.”

Editor’s note: This story is based primarily on police accounts available at the time, which may change and can inherently give a one-sided report of the incident.

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(Photos by Dustin, used with permission)