Chicago police deny allegations of not responding to assist feds

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — The Chicago Police Department is pushing back against allegations that officers were told to “stand down” in response to weekend incidents involving federal immigration enforcement officers and agents, including one in which a woman was shot.

The Fraternal Order of Police, an advocacy group for law enforcement that endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024, alleged Chicago city police were ordered not to respond to assist a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers while they were being “physically threatened” by what appeared to be an angry group of people.

A spokesperson for the National Fraternal Order of Police said that both the FOP and the Chicago chapter of the organization “believe that when an officer calls for assistance, you answer, no matter what.”

However, in a statement provided by a Chicago Police Department spokesperson, the agency said that officers did indeed respond to incidents involving federal agents and officers, including the scene of the shooting in which a woman was hospitalized after being shot by federal officers.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that a woman who had been threatening federal officers had a semiautomatic weapon and was in a vehicle that boxed federal officers in.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stand guard as demonstrators protest outside of an ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, US, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker warned residents that he expected federal immigration agents to step up activity in the third-largest US city this weekend. Photographer: Taylor Glascock/Bloomberg via Getty Images

DHS officials say the shooting occurred on the city’s Southwest Side after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were ambushed by “domestic terrorists” who rammed federal police with vehicles.

The woman, injured by “defensive fire” from CBP agents, was driving one of the vehicles and had a semiautomatic weapon, a DHS news release said.

Officials said that the woman who was shot by police has a history of “doxxing agents.”

The city’s police department said that officers also responded to calls for service involving federal officers who were the victims of two hit-and-run crashes. The crashes were not related to the shooting incident, the city spokesperson said, but in each case, officers responded and documented the incidents.

However, in an audio call of communications between Chicago police officers obtained by NewsNation, the department’s chief of patrol can be heard saying,” Clear everybody up. … We’re not responding over there" in the location where federal agents shot the woman.

Seven seconds later, the patrol chief repeats that “we’re not sending anyone over to that location.”

Despite the audio of the call, Chicago police officials are denying that officers were told not to respond to the incident.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling watches a march to the Democratic National Convention Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Larry Snelling, Chicago police superintendent, denied that officers were told to stand down. At a news conference on Monday, Snelling defended Chief of Patrol Jon Hein, and said that no such order was given to instruct officers not to respond to the scene.

"I would never tell our officers to stand down because if our officers were in trouble and we needed help from other officers, I would expect those officers to step in and help us," Snelling said. "And that’s the same thing we do on our side. When someone is in trouble, we’re going to step in.”

Snelling provided a timeline of events from the weekend shooting, which outlined the response time of Chicago police officers to the scene. He said that city cops remained on scene until the investigation was taken over by a federal law enforcement agency.

He said there may have been "miscommunication" and acknowledged that phone conversations may have taken place with dispatchers. However, he called reports that Hein, the chief of patrol, ordered officers to "stand down" as being false.

"The Chief of Patrol would never tell anyone to stand down," Snelling told reporters on Monday.

Under Chicago’s so-called “sanctuary city" policies and the Illinois Trust Act, local police are prohibited from cooperating with federal agencies in federal immigration enforcement efforts. However, the department said that it will always protect all individuals from harm while prioritizing public safety and the sanctity of human life.

Despite not engaging in federal immigration enforcement efforts, Snelling warned residents and protesters about targeting law enforcement officers and agents. He said when federal officers are boxed in, it is reasonable for believe that they are being ambushed.

He said anyone found to target federal agents intentionally by boxing in a federal vehicle is believed to be committing a crime involving deadly force.

"We need to be clear about these laws," Snelling said on Monday, "We cannot become a society where we just decide to take everything into our own hands and start to commit laws against law enforcement. It is a crime.”

He added: "I get that there are a lot of emotions out there but that does not mean you get to commit a crime."

However, Ret. Chicago Police Lt. John Garrido called Mayor Brandon Johnson’s “ICE Free Zone” executive order that prohibits ICE from using city property in its operations “absolutely ridiculous.”

“If the city would just calm down and just cooperate and coordinate with ICE, you wouldn’t have the situations that we’re having now,” Garrido said. “(ICE) is going to be here. They’re here. They’re not going anywhere, so let’s coordinate efforts to make it safe for everyone.”

Garrido said that by officers refusing to respond to assist federal officers over the weekend, the city essentially made the case for the Trump administration to send in National Guard troops.

“You basically just handed it to them and said, ‘OK, now we’re able to send in the troops because local law enforcement isn’t able to help,” Garrido said.