Overview
- Evanston officers found a man on the ground with head, neck and dental injuries after an encounter with plainclothes operatives on the 1700 block of Howard Street, and the man was later treated at St. Francis Hospital.
- Police say the operatives identified themselves as federal agents conducting a fugitive investigation, detained the man for fingerprinting after he refused to show ID, then determined he was not the subject and released him.
- Video from the scene shows agents holding the man down and at times appearing to strike him, and Evanston police have photographed injuries and are preserving multiple videos for review.
- An agent told officers five federal agents were operating in separate vehicles and that they left after protesters gathered; witnesses reported the operatives looked like ICE but the specific federal agency has not been confirmed publicly.
- The city investigation comes as local activists and officials press for clarity on federal-local coordination and the use-of-force rules that govern fugitive-style enforcement in communities.