Chicago Police Chief Larry Snelling strongly defended ICE agents in the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, stating that boxing in federal vehicles with cars constitutes an ambush and reasonable grounds for agents to fear deadly harm.
Additionally, he warned protesters that tailing or ramming law enforcement vehicles is a crime involving deadly force, justifying reciprocal deadly force in response. Snelling emphasized equal application of the law, rejecting vigilante actions against officers regardless of emotions, and affirmed that local police do not interfere with federal agents. His stance sharply contrasts with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s call for ICE to leave communities, labeling them “Trump’s lawless, racist force.”
Police Chief Snelling began his remarks with unconditional support for ICE. “Let me make this clear, federal agents ICE, [and] HSI are officers. They are law enforcement agents if you box them in with vehicles. It is reasonable for them to believe that they are being ambushed,” he noted.
Adding more context as to the dangers of this practice, he noted, “This could end in a deadly situation, and it’s reasonable for them to use force based on those conditions. Do not box in any law enforcement officer. You are breaking the law when you do that.”
Still not done, he gave frank advice to anti-ICE protestors. “You are putting yourself in danger following law enforcement agents around. The question is, why? What do you plan on doing? It’s also reasonable for them to believe that you’re eventually going to do harm to them if you ram any vehicle,” Snelling declared.
Continuing his comments, he added, “Especially that one that contains law enforcement agents, and that’s any law enforcement, local, state, federal, county, and you do this intentionally, this is considered deadly force.” Further, he added, “Deadly force is anything that can cause great bodily harm or death. When you plow into a vehicle that contains law enforcement agents, you are using deadly force, and they can use deadly force in response to stop you.”
The police chief kept going, making the law clear and saying, “We need to be clear about these laws. We cannot become a society where we just decide to take everything in our own hands and start to commit crimes against law enforcement. It is a crime.” Winding down his comments, he added, “You may not like what they’re doing. I can understand that there’s a lot of emotions out there, but that does not mean that you get to commit a crime, especially one that could lead to deadly force.”
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Concluding his remarks, Snelling noted, “We need to keep everyone safe. Our responsibilities when it comes to federal agents, and I’ve been asked these questions, we do not interfere with the duties and responsibilities of federal agents.”
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These comments stand in stark contrast to Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, who whined, “We need ICE out of our communities now. We stand in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and with all of those across the country whose lives have been torn apart due to reckless actions by Trump’s lawless, racist force.”
Featured image from embedded video