{"id":246697,"date":"2026-07-18T15:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/246697\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T15:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:32:13","slug":"an-ice-officer-fired-at-an-suv-fleeing-a-car-stop-in-pennsylvania-thats-not-how-it-should-happen-policing-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/246697\/","title":{"rendered":"An ICE officer fired at an SUV fleeing a car stop in Pennsylvania. That\u2019s not how it should happen, policing experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n In the early morning of July 1, federal immigration officers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, pulled over a white SUV. An unmarked Immigration and Customs Enforcement car stopped in front of the SUV to block its path, while other law enforcement vehicles parked behind it, according to surveillance video obtained by CNN affiliate WGAL.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cGet out of the car now,\u201d one officer said after he approached the driver\u2019s side.\n <\/p>\n

\n When the driver did not emerge after officers repeatedly ordered him out of the SUV, an officer shattered the window. The SUV then drove away, appearing to clip the ICE vehicle stopped in front of it before turning the wrong way down a one-way street. One ICE officer fired his gun as the SUV drove away from the officers and hit a parked car.\n <\/p>\n

\n In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said the driver \u2013 who the agency said had a criminal history of assault, hit-and-run, and a domestic incident \u2013 had \u201cweaponized his car and rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n An ICE officer discharged his weapon, and the driver escaped, the statement said.\n <\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s the latest example of how surveillance footage can undermine the government\u2019s public statements<\/a>, and a law enforcement expert told CNN it clearly demonstrates some of the poor tactics being used by ICE officers.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe vehicle pulls in front to stop the car from fleeing, but isn\u2019t even effective at doing that. It\u2019s not even properly positioned to do that because the guy\u2019s pretty easily able to get around him,\u201d said Kenneth Corey, former chief of department for the New York Police Department. \u201cHe takes a little sideswipe damage, but he doesn\u2019t ram his way out of that, by any means.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The officers missed multiple opportunities to conduct the car stop more safely, he said, likely due to their inexperience handling such situations \u2013 which could be contributing to similar confrontations across the country.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think that just goes to the lack of practice in these situations where the agents are almost having to kind of make it up as they go along,\u201d Corey said. \u201cWhile they received some training a number of years ago on how to do this, it\u2019s not something that they\u2019ve really executed well in the real world.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The incident in Harrisburg occurred days before an ICE agent fatally shot a 52-year-old man<\/a> during a car stop in Houston. Less than a week later, another ICE agent killed a 25-year-old man<\/a> during a vehicle stop in Maine. Neither victim was the intended target of the immigration enforcement operations. The killings prompted community vigils for the victims and renewed outcry over the Trump administration\u2019s aggressive tactics.\n <\/p>\n

\n Following the shooting in Maine this week, the agency issued a pause on most vehicle stops conducted by ICE agents, which was swiftly overturned by President Donald Trump<\/a>, who has made mass deportations a cornerstone of his second term.\n <\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\n Vehicle stops were not always a major component of the agency\u2019s actions, experts told CNN, as agents would typically take people into custody from a local jail or a targeted location, such as a residence or workplace. But car stops have ramped up during Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown, as his administration set a goal of making 2,000 immigration-related arrests a day.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey didn\u2019t really try to pick people up off the street the way they are now,\u201d Corey said. \u201cSo now you\u2019ve shifted these tactics into really what\u2019s more akin to local policing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Like all federal law enforcement officers, ICE agents would learn how to properly conduct vehicle stops when they first joined the force, but experts said the agency\u2019s recent change in tactics hasn\u2019t come with any additional training.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere\u2019s basic protocols at the academy, but you haven\u2019t done this for 8, 9, 10 years,\u201d former acting ICE director John Sandweg said, referring to experienced agents.\n <\/p>\n

\n There also have been recent concerns<\/a> about the onboarding and training of new federal immigration officers, which were exacerbated after the administration reduced the required training days for ICE agents \u2013 who receive far less training than almost any other federal agents with a badge and a gun, according to a CNN analysis<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\"ICE<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI really feel for the agents,\u201d Corey said. \u201cThere\u2019s been this change in approach without the commensurate retraining and practice that\u2019s kind of needed.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, told CNN this week<\/a> the agency will implement additional training, including for high-risk vehicle stops and crowd control. The agency also re-extended its training program to 71 days, the spokesperson said, adding previous graduates will get \u201cfollow-on training.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n In November 2024, CNN joined a team of immigration enforcement agents as they moved to detain a convicted criminal in Flushing, Queens. The ICE team detailed the hours they spent researching the case and surveilling the man\u2019s residence before several agents staked out the home to take him into custody.\n <\/p>\n

\n This lengthy process was typical of ICE\u2019s previous procedures to track down criminals, Sandweg said, which may have shifted under the demands of this administration\u2019s daily arrest goals.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe more time you\u2019re chasing on doors looking for that criminal, you\u2019re not feeding the beast: the quota,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Instead of spending hours on stakeouts waiting to confront a person near their home, ICE agents are likely feeling the pressure to make multiple arrests throughout the day, when people are typically out of the house and possibly in transit, resulting in more car stops.\n <\/p>\n

\"ICE<\/p>\n

\n On the other hand, vehicle stops \u2013 which are widely considered to be one of the most dangerous law enforcement activities \u2013 have always been a cornerstone for local police, which are trained extensively on how to appropriately conduct them.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe traffic stop portion of training is something that\u2019s recycled, that they do on a regular basis just to make sure the officers get a strong understanding of the tactics,\u201d said Rodney Harrison, a former NYPD Chief of Department and Suffolk County, New York, police commissioner.\n <\/p>\n

\n Officers are trained to pull the car over in an area where the vehicles can park outside the flow of traffic. Corey said best practice is generally not to use a police vehicle to block the car\u2019s path in the front \u2013 a tactic that has been utilized in some recent ICE vehicle stops, including the one in Harrisburg.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThose officers in the front car are in a terrible, terrible tactical position,\u201d he said. \u201cThe person on the passenger side of that vehicle, when they get out of the car, they are completely exposed.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Instead, instructors teach police to approach the vehicle from behind and to avoid standing in the car\u2019s path.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf somehow you wound up in that position and the vehicle started moving at you, we teach them to get off the X \u2013 basically get out of the way,\u201d Corey said.\n <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n There are several other, safer ways law enforcement can prevent a vehicle from fleeing besides physically blocking its path, such as using spike strips and other tools that can deflate tires, the former chief said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere are ways to do it without placing the agents in a position to be struck, but all of that requires training and getting them to really incorporate that training into real-world practice,\u201d Corey said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Different departments and agencies have various policies outlining what actions are appropriate if a car stop or other incident goes awry.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cPeople are going to resist, they\u2019re going to try to flee. They may physically attack you,\u201d Corey said. \u201cAll of those things happen, and that\u2019s where the training and tactics really has to kick in.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Many local law enforcement departments direct their personnel not to fire at a moving car unless there is a threat of deadly force by means other than the vehicle itself \u2013 a policy that\u2019s also recommended by the Police Executive Research Forum<\/a>, a nonpartisan policing think tank.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cShooting at the vehicle isn\u2019t going to stop the car \u2013 shooting the driver now turns that car into essentially an unguided missile,\u201d Corey said. \u201cYou\u2019ve probably created a situation of even greater danger because there\u2019s nobody left in control of that car.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n DHS policies<\/a> prohibit law enforcement officials from shooting solely to disable a moving vehicle and state that officers should only use deadly force when there\u2019s \u201can imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury\u201d to the officer or another individual.\n <\/p>\n

\n Corey noted the officer in Harrisburg fired his weapon as the car was already driving away from the federal officers.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf you\u2019re saying that the officers are firing because the car was trying to run them over, then they\u2019d be firing at the car as it was heading towards them, not speeding away from them,\u201d he said, although he added it was unclear what people inside the vehicle were doing at the time.\n <\/p>\n

\n Under the circumstances seen in the video, Harrison said, firing a gun was not necessary.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWas anybody at risk of serious physical injury or death? And the answer is no,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a need for deadly physical force in that situation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n In the recent deadly shooting in Maine, DHS said<\/a> the officer opened fire \u201cfearing for public safety\u201d after the car attempted to flee. The agency has not said what the driver may have done to create that fear. After the shooting, the victim\u2019s car was seen on surveillance footage<\/a> driving in slow circles as federal agents appeared to try and stop the vehicle.\n <\/p>\n

\n And following the fatal incident in Houston, ICE said<\/a> an officer fired his weapon in \u201cself-defense\u201d after a driver rammed into a law enforcement vehicle and refused to follow verbal commands. The driver\u2019s family has disputed the government\u2019s account.\n <\/p>\n

\"Flowers,<\/p>\n

\n The officers involved in these shootings were not wearing body-worn cameras<\/a>, fueling skepticism of the government\u2019s narrative of the events and renewing concerns about oversight and accountability.\n <\/p>\n

\n Such footage can help expedite investigations, which can help determine if the use of force was legal, Corey said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou wind up in situations that are sometimes called \u2018lawful but awful,\u2019 where it looks absolutely terrible, but it does fit within the realm of legal justification,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The legal standard to charge law enforcement<\/a> for a shooting that occurs while on duty is high, which also complicates calls for accountability. No criminal charges have been filed against any immigration enforcement officer involved in the recent fatal car stops.\n <\/p>\n

\n If ICE agents and other law enforcement officials follow the best practices for vehicle stops and try to de-escalate the situation, Corey said, it could help them avoid some of those dangerous scenarios all together.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ve positioned yourself well, when you\u2019ve used solid tactics in the run up to it, that\u2019s how you avoid winding up in that situation where, yes, the shooting is going to be justifiable, but it was completely avoidable,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the early morning of July 1, federal immigration officers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, pulled over a white SUV.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-246697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}