Report: Fake Masked 'ICE' Agents Assault Woman In Oregon

Last year, we reported that the FBI  warned that criminals are in the streets impersonating ICE agents. Well, this month, the Oregon State Police and federal law enforcement are investigating a report that a group of men disguised themselves as federal officers, identified themselves as “ICE,” and assaulted a woman in Portland.

From KGW8:

The reported incident happened on Friday, July 17, between roughly 3:30 and 5 p.m. The victim reported driving on Highway 211 just east of Woodburn when an SUV with “red and blue emergency-style lights” pulled up behind them. Thinking it was a law enforcement traffic stop, the victim pulled over into a gravel turnout.

According to the report, two men got out of the SUV, one of them armed with a rifle. They identified themselves as “ICE” and told the victim that they were being detained, forcibly removing the victim from their own vehicle and searching them.

The victim was put in the back of the men’s SUV, where a third person was waiting and appeared to be acting as a “guard.” The victim reported being assaulted by that person while still detained.

Some 15 to 20 minutes later, the men let the victim go.

OSP said the suspects wore boots, baseball caps, face coverings and green long-sleeved shirts. They wore tactical vests with “POLICE” in white lettering and had badges likewise marked “Police.” Their vehicle was a newer model smaller SUV, described as blue or gray with no visible license plates.

The victim of the alleged assault hasn’t been publicly identified, but someone must know something about the accused, because the state police released a statement saying, “OSP investigators have contacted federal law enforcement agencies, who confirmed the individuals involved were not federal officers.”

It was reported that after the alleged attack, the victim went to a hospital for treatment for their injuries, where they began receiving text messages from a strange phone number, claiming to be from a law firm offering legal representation for the incident, according to OSP.

This, of course, would be far from the first time federal agents have been impersonated by criminals, and it’s just one more reason it’s important that federal agents be readily identifiable, which is why there’s so much opposition to them wearing face coverings and conducting traffic stops in unmarked vehicles, which was the case when an ICE agent shot and killed Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston earlier this month.

Last November, the same month that the FBI reported incidents of civilians posing as ICE agents,  we reported that a local police officer in Southern California had to intervene as a plainclothes Border Patrol officer pointed his gun at a woman who was in her vehicle after accusing her of following him while he was conducting an operation, because, in his mind, it’s reasonable for a civilian to know a fed is a fed even if he isn’t in uniform. It’s not reasonable; it’s dangerous.

In fact, earlier this year, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill requiring that all law enforcement officers operating in the state, including federal law officers, provide clear identification and limit use of face coverings. OPS referenced that law in its statement.

“Federal agencies operating in Oregon have confirmed that officers conducting official operations must clearly identify themselves as law enforcement,” OSP said. “They also reiterated that anyone who falsely represents themselves as a federal immigration officer will face criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Impersonating law enforcement jeopardizes public safety, creates unnecessary fear and confusion, and undermines trust in legitimate agencies.”

Exactly.

SEE ALSO:

FBI Says Criminals Are Impersonating ICE Agents

DOJ Sues California Over Law Prohibiting Feds Wearing Masks

Federal Judge Blocks California’s Mask Ban Targeting ICE Agents

Report: Fake Masked 'ICE' Agents Assault Woman In Oregon was originally published on newsone.com