What started as a stalled federal truck on a City Heights street turned into a tense standoff this afternoon, as neighbors surrounded a group of federal agents near Fairmount Avenue and Maple Avenue and refused to back off until San Diego police officers arrived and the vehicle was towed away.
Videos from the scene show a growing crowd clustered around the federal vehicle, which witnesses said had come to a stop and would not move. The gathering only broke up after a tow truck hauled the federal pickup away and San Diego Police Department officers moved in to calm things down.
According to NBC 7 San Diego, police got a call around 1:54 PM about a crowd forming around the federal vehicle. SDPD told the station that officers focused on maintaining the peace as the situation unfolded. Customs and Border Protection confirmed to NBC 7 that it is reviewing what happened but offered no additional details. Multiple witnesses told the outlet that someone in the crowd used a slingshot to shatter a window on the truck. SDPD also stressed to NBC 7 that its officers on scene were not involved in federal immigration enforcement and that they displayed their names on their uniforms.
Local Policy And State Law
The San Diego Police Department’s own rules generally require officers to identify themselves. The department policy manual instructs officers to provide their names and department identification numbers to anyone who asks, unless withholding that information is necessary the perform their duties. Under the San Diego Police Department policy manual, there is an exception for large-crowd responses, allowing officers to use ID-only tags instead of full name plates…