Excessive force by law enforcement
Excessive force is force used beyond what was necessary and proportional under the circumstances confronting the officer — the constitutional standard for use of force by law enforcement. Concrete forms include force used after compliance, force directed at non-threatening individuals, force grossly disproportionate to the alleged offense, and lethal force used where lesser means were available. The publication tracks documented incidents — citizen-captured video, body-worn camera footage, civil litigation findings, internal affairs determinations — and applies the legal standard, not popular reaction. Bystander cellphone video is often the first and sometimes only record of what happened; it is treated as a primary source on the same terms as official footage.
Documented entries (12)
2026
NJ State Police take over Delaney Hall protests, deploy tear gas and pepper spray; six arrested
On May 29, 2026, the New Jersey State Police — deployed by Gov. Mikie Sherrill — took over the security perimeter outside Delaney Hall, the GEO Group-run ICE detention center in Newark where roughly 300 detainees had been on a hunger and labor strike since May 22 over conditions they called inhumane. Sherrill framed the takeover as a de-escalating move to establish "protected protest zones" and remove ICE from nightly clashes, but over the following weekend state troopers deployed tear gas, pepper spray, flashbangs and mounted units, arrested demonstrators, and enforced a half-mile nightly curfew around the facility. Immigrant-rights advocates said the troopers used excessive force against peaceful protesters and were "no different than ICE," a characterization the state disputed as lawful crowd control.
Federal officers spray chemical irritants and charge demonstrators at Newark's Delaney Hall ICE jail
On the night of May 26, 2026, federal immigration officers sprayed chemical irritants and charged demonstrators gathered outside Delaney Hall, the 1,000-bed GEO Group-run ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where roughly 300 detainees were conducting a hunger and labor strike over conditions including spoiled food, denial of medical care, and failed air conditioning. The confrontation was the latest in days of clashes at the facility, coming after masked, armored federal personnel pepper-sprayed U.S. Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) there on Memorial Day. Journalists covering the protests were among those exposed to the chemical agents.
U.S. Sen. Andy Kim pepper-sprayed by federal agents during ICE oversight visit in Newark
On Memorial Day, May 25, 2026, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said he was pepper-sprayed by federal agents outside Delaney Hall, a private ICE detention facility in Newark, after conducting an in-person oversight visit while detainees inside were on a hunger strike. Kim said he had tried to position himself between ICE personnel and protesters to de-escalate when officers — who had deployed an armored vehicle as a barricade — pushed through and discharged pepper balls and pepper spray. DHS publicly defended the action, blaming "rioters" and asserting officers used "the minimum amount of force necessary," and later said no individuals were directly struck by pepper-ball projectiles.
ICE agents shoot Carlos Mendoza Hernandez six times during traffic stop in Patterson, California
ICE agents opened fire on Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, 36, during an early-morning vehicle stop near Interstate 5 in Patterson, California on April 7, 2026, striking him about six times, including in the jaw; he survived after multiple surgeries. ICE said he was a suspected 18th Street Gang member wanted for questioning in El Salvador and had tried to run over an agent — claims his attorney disputes, saying dashcam video and witnesses show he reversed to flee only after agents began shooting. After hospital release he was taken into FBI custody and indicted on federal assault charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.
ICE agents violently arrest mother and daughter at San Francisco International Airport
On the night of March 22, 2026, plainclothes ICE agents forcibly arrested a woman, later identified by DHS as Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, and her roughly 10-year-old daughter inside San Francisco International Airport, holding the crying woman on the floor and wheeling her away in restraints while refusing bystanders' requests to identify themselves or show badges. About a dozen San Francisco police officers formed a barrier around the agents but did not intervene. DHS said the family was subject to a 2019 final order of removal and was being repatriated to Guatemala; the arrest coincided with a new federal deployment of ICE agents to U.S. airports.
ICE vehicle pursuit in Newark causes multi-vehicle crash, injuring three children
On February 25, 2026, ICE agents pursuing a fleeing van during a targeted operation in Newark, New Jersey, caused a multi-vehicle crash that sent three children to University Hospital with injuries. Mayor Ras Baraka condemned the pursuit as reckless, noting that New Jersey law bars law-enforcement vehicle chases absent an immediate threat and that roads were still being cleared from a snowstorm. DHS said the operation targeted a man with a 2017 final removal order, who was taken into custody after the collision.
Rep. Omar's silent State of the Union guest forcibly removed, injured, and charged
During President Trump's State of the Union address on February 24, 2026, Aliya Rahman — a Minneapolis software engineer attending as Rep. Ilhan Omar's invited guest — stood silently in the House gallery and was forcibly removed by U.S. Capitol Police after declining to sit. Rahman, who had disclosed injured shoulders and is autistic with a traumatic brain injury, was aggressively handled, required treatment at George Washington University Hospital, and was booked and charged with "Unlawful Conduct," a misdemeanor carrying up to six months. Rep. Omar condemned the response as a heavy-handed, chilling reaction to peaceful expression and demanded a full explanation.
Border Patrol agents shoot and kill U.S. citizen VA nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis
On January 24, 2026, two federal agents — Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez — shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and Department of Veterans Affairs intensive-care nurse, on a Minneapolis street during a federal immigration surge. The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti was armed and "violently resisted," but bystander videos showed him pepper-sprayed and pinned to the ground before the shots, and the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. The two agents were placed on administrative leave and the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation.
Hennepin County charges ICE agent in January Minneapolis shooting of Venezuelan immigrant
On May 18, 2026, Hennepin County prosecutors charged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the January 14, 2026 shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis through the front door of a home in north Minneapolis. County Attorney Mary Moriarty said security-camera and physical evidence show Castro was never under threat — he was not struck by a shovel, broom, or other object — and then filed a false account of the encounter. The U.S. Department of Justice had previously dropped the federal assault charges that the Department of Homeland Security brought against Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo Aljorna in February 2026 after the same footage contradicted the ICE agents' sworn statements; ICE placed two agents on administrative leave at that time.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shoots U.S. citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis
On January 7, 2026, ICE deportation officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, on a south Minneapolis street during Operation Metro Surge after she stopped to object to the federal presence. Multiple bystander and bodyworn videos, and a New York Times multi-angle analysis, show her SUV turning away as Ross fired three shots. The administration branded Good a "domestic terrorist" and called the killing self-defense, while local officials said the footage contradicted that account; federal authorities later declined to investigate.
Police fired 27 shots at unarmed Navy veteran John Jenuwine; he bled out while officers watched
Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies, pursuing an erratic white van, conducted two PIT maneuvers and fired 27 shots at an unarmed driver who did not match the dispatch description. John Andrew Jenuwine, 34, died of blood loss. Officers violated department policy by using deadly force without verbal engagement; the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. Two deputies received 2024 commendations despite the killing.
Cuban ICE detainee dies under restraint at Camp East Montana; death ruled a homicide
On January 3, 2026, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban man, died at ICE's Camp East Montana detention camp on the Army's Fort Bliss base in El Paso, Texas. The El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, finding the cause to be asphyxia due to neck and torso compression while he was being physically restrained by law enforcement. ICE first said he died after "experiencing medical distress," then attributed the death to a suicide attempt and an ensuing struggle with staff; it was the third detainee death at the facility, and no one has been charged.