MILLCREEK, Utah — In a scathing letter to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the mayor of Millcreek viciously condemned the agents who were shown to wrongfully claim a man had swerved into them during an incident last month.
Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini expressed his anger in the letter addressed to Jason Knight, the acting field office director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, saying the agents "overstepped, demonstrated unprofessional and perhaps criminal conduct, and trampled the rights of an American citizen employed in my city."
Silvestrini was reacting to the findings released by the Unified Police Department on Tuesday that showed how surveillance video failed to back up the claims made by the ICE agents who said the driver had swerved towards them in Murray on Jan. 26.
Surveillance video below shows driver not swerving towards ICE agents:
As the agents insisted that UPD officers cite the driver for the alleged offense, they put the man in handcuffs despite the officers' concerns. The driver, who admitted to yelling and honking at the agents, denied making any move towards them with his vehicle, which was backed up by video from nearby businesses.
The mayor accused Knight and ICE of sapping city resources "for an event which appears to have been nothing more than your officers having 'thin skin' in the face of a citizen’s exercise of his right to free speech."
Silvestrini acknowledged that disrespect towards law enforcement officers is "regrettable," he believes that "professional officers" shrug off bad behavior. He added that agents' conduct was "thuggery" that gives all police officers a bad reputation.
Bodycam footage below shows interactions between UPD officers, ICE agents and driver:
In his letter, Silvestrini requests an inquiry into what occurred and suggests criminal charges be filed if it is found that they provided a false report to UPD officers.
"Please advise what action you intend to take to address this incident and keep me apprised," the mayor wrote. "I am interested to know what, if any discipline you intend to pursue after you review the matter."
After the video showed that the man who was eventually cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle did not swerve into the agents, the citation was dismissed.
