Shaw Local

News   •   Sports   •   Obituaries   •   eNewspaper   •   The Scene   •   175 Years
The Herald-News

Bolingbrook police say federal agents arrested man inside police station without warrant

Appeared to be with DHS

The scammers often identify themselves as a police officer or government official and tell the person to make an immediate payment to avoid being arrested, the Bolingbrook Police Department said.

A Bolingbrook man was taken into custody by federal agents inside the Bolingbrook police station on Tuesday without possessing a warrant, the Bolingbrook Police Department said.

The agents wore placards with the word “police” on them and patches from the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, authorities said in a news release on Wednesday evening.

The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when a 40-year-old Bolingbrook man entered the public lobby of the police station and spoke to a department records clerk, the release said.

The man told the employee that he wished to report an earlier interaction with an unidentified officer who fired a Taser at him, the release said.

The employee notified the dispatch center, which then called for an officer to respond. A patrol supervisor came to the lobby “as is standard practice for our department regarding employee complaints,” the police said in the release.

When the patrol supervisor arrived in the lobby, he discovered that four federal law enforcement agents identified as being with DHS and DEA were already present and had taken the man into custody, the release said. The agents were clearly identified by their clothing, the release said.

The supervisor confirmed that the man’s complaint did not involve any Bolingbrook Police Department personnel and remained on scene to ensure the “safety and security of all parties,” the release said.

The supervisor later learned the federal agents had followed the individual to the police department after an earlier incident on Hywood Lane and departed the area shortly thereafter.

On Tuesday, Bolingbrook police said the federal agents said they were conducting “targeted immigration enforcement” at a residence on Hywood Lane when they came into contact with a 40-year-old man who was seated in a nearby pickup truck, police said.

The agents said the man was ordered to identify himself and to exit the vehicle, police said.

The agents claimed that the man refused their orders and drove through the grass before “intentionally ramming an agent’s vehicle head-on while it was parked with its emergency lights activated,” police said.

As of Wednesday evening, police said federal authorities are not seeking charges associated with the criminal damage to property report filed by the Bolingbrook Police Department.

After a “comprehensive review” of the situation, the department said police personnel acted in accordance with departmental policy and the Illinois TRUST Act.

“The Bolingbrook Police Department was not involved in the planning or execution of the federal action that occurred and does not engage in immigration enforcement, in accordance with Illinois Law,” Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta said in a written statement.

“Our officers remain focused on their primary mission of keeping our community safe and responding to emergencies. Bolingbrook is a diverse and caring community and Village leadership remains committed to transparency, clear communication, and keeping residents informed,” the statement read.

The department does not have video footage from the Hywood Lane incident; however, there is documented evidence of damage to both vehicles involved, the release said.

The arrest inside the police department lobby was recorded by security cameras. The corresponding video and WESCOM dispatch audio are available at the following link:https://youtu.be/ygLTyHL2m38.

Judy Harvey

Judy Harvey

News editor for The Herald-News. More than 30 years as a journalist in community news in Will County and the greater Chicago region.