A man was left bloodied on the ground in Evanston, Illinois, on Sept. 20 after ICE agents mistook him for someone they were searching for, according to CNN. Evanston police were dispatched around 9:49 a.m. after a caller reported two men arguing. Officers found the man on the ground with bystanders helping him and called an ambulance after he reported injuries to his head, neck and teeth.
Police identified him only as an Evanston resident. A federal agent told an Evanston officer the man had refused to identify himself and “resisted detention.” Bystander Ryan Garton, 56, said he was driving home when he saw two agents pinning the man down. “They were punching a guy and putting their knee into his back,” he said.
He pulled over and told the agents to back off, offering first aid. Witness Miguel Olivares told the outlet’s affiliate WLS he heard the man shouting, “I’m a US citizen,” and began filming. “They were being rough with him; they had him pinned against the floor, and it looked like one of the agents hit him in the face,” Olivares said.
How the confrontation unfolded on camera
Video reviewed by the outlet shows two agents, one masked and hooded, holding the man down. He can be heard saying, “I’m a ****** US citizen.” The agents released him, stepped away, then returned to their vehicles and left while he remained face down in the street. Garton said he knelt beside him, telling him, “I have you. You’re safe. They can’t hurt you anymore.”
The man had been walking to a pharmacy for a prescription, Garton said. He dialed 911 himself but was too shaken to speak, so Garton relayed his location to dispatchers. Evanston’s police chief met the man at the hospital, where an evidence technician documented his injuries, including a swollen temple and blood from his mouth…