Minneapolis police chief blasts ICE after agent seen dragging woman through street, kneeling on her back

Minneapolis' police chief condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an agent was seen dragging an allegedly pregnant woman through the street and kneeling on her back during an attempted arrest earlier this week.

Video on Monday in a Minneapolis neighborhood showed people yelling at ICE agents to release the woman, saying she was pregnant and could not breathe. 

An agent was captured on video kneeling on the woman's back before later dragging her through the snow by one arm on her back toward a vehicle.

"Let her go! Let her go!" witnesses yelled as the agent dragged the woman at an intersection.

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The woman was eventually released from the agent's grasp.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference on Tuesday that local police were called to the scene by a federal agent who claimed officers needed help.

But when police arrived, there was no violence against federal officers, O’Hara said, adding that other law enforcement agencies may have been using "questionable methods."

"Once it was determined that the scene was safe and there was no violence occurring, our officers disengaged from the scene," O’Hara said.

"We have been training our officers for the last five years very, very intensely on de-escalation," he continued. "But unfortunately, that is not, that is often not what we are seeing from other agencies in the city."

O’Hara also said in a statement to Reuters that the footage of the woman dragged through the street is "profoundly disturbing."

"This egregious disregard for human dignity is appalling," he said. "It is deeply concerning that there appears to be a lack of accountability from our federal partners."

The woman who filmed the incident, Lauryn Spencer, was driving on her lunch break when she heard whistles and honking, which have been used to warn of ICE agents in the area.

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Spencer said she approached the scene and began recording immediately, but was shoved back by an agent when she attempted to ask the woman being dragged what her name was. Spencer said she and other onlookers were also sprayed with chemical irritants.

"They were being very aggressive from the beginning, like there was never a time where they attempted to use diplomacy," she told The Associated Press. "I didn’t see anybody throw any hard items. The snowballs were definitely being thrown, but we didn’t start throwing snowballs until they started dragging her around by her wrist."

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin purported that federal agents were targeting a vehicle when protesters "threw rocks, chunks of ice, assaulted officers and used pepper spray." She said two people were charged with assaulting federal officers and remain in custody and that the agents sustained injuries, including cuts.

McLaughlin further alleged that agents attempted to arrest the woman in the video because she "rushed an ICE vehicle and attempted to vandalize it" but that they abandoned the arrest after being swarmed by protesters.

Footage showed ICE agents shattering a window before detaining a male driver, according to CBS News Minnesota. A short time later, the agents detained the woman who was seen being dragged in the video.

Agents were also seen fending off protesters who threw snowballs at them. The agents used chemical irritants, and one used a taser before yelling at the crowd: "Who wants more?"

Tensions have been escalating in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as federal authorities continue an immigration crackdown as part of President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.

Former Minnesota state legislator Hodan Hassan said she believes ICE tactics are becoming more harsh as the immigration enforcement operation in the region continues.

"The first week, they were not very aggressive. They were stopping people. Second week, we saw them really aggressive," she told The Associated Press.

The clash in south Minneapolis happened just a couple miles away from where George Floyd was killed in 2020 by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was kneeling on his neck, sparking nationwide protests advocating for racial justice and police reform. Chauvin was sentenced to prison for murder and for violating Floyd's civil rights.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.