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The Herald-News

Bolingbrook blocks release of body camera video of ICE agents claiming they were battered

A Bolingbrook police squad vehicle seen in 2022.

The Village of Bolingbrook has declined to release body camera video regarding an Oct. 19 incident that involved federal immigration agents who claimed they were battered.

On Tuesday, the village issued a letter in response to an Oct. 20 Freedom of Information Act request from The Herald-News regarding the incident involving two agents with agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Bolingbrook police officials have said ICE plan to “pursue their own charges at the federal level.” ICE has not responded to questions from The Herald-News regarding the incident.

The letter from Fran Miller, Bolingbrook’s FOIA officer, said the Illinois Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act limits who can obtain the video of the encounter.

“[The law] permits only the subject of the encounter captured on the recording, the subject’s attorney, an officer involved in the encounter, and the officer’s legal representative to obtain the footage of that encounter,” Miller’s letter said.

The law does not “take into consideration the public interest in disclosure,” according to Miller’s letter.

The Herald-News has requested Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s Office to review the village’s response.

In response to a FOIA request for squad vehicle video, Bolingbrook village officials said they “determined that there are no response documents for your request on squad vehicle videos.”

On Oct. 19, the Bolingbrook Police Department released a statement that said their officers responded to a report of a battery involving ICE agents in the 100 block of Williamsburg Lane.

The officers met with ICE agents who “related they were victims of a battery while attempting to make an arrest.”

“The victims related that while attempting to make an arrest of a 46-year-old man in the parking lot, two unknown females approached and began striking them both in the head,” according to the statement from Bolingbrook police officials.

The “females and the man then fled the area” on foot and entered a nearby residence, police said.

“Medical attention was declined and no arrests were made,” police said.

Felix Sarver

Felix Sarver

Felix Sarver covers crime and courts for The Herald-News