Sanctuary city officials rebuke police officers for assisting immigration agents

Officials from the city of Sanctuary in upstate New York held a press conference Wednesday to blow up members of their own police and stop the van carrying up to eight residents in support of Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents.

Rochester Police Station (RPD) officials were called to the scene Monday by federal agencies to respond to emergencies. While responding, RPD ordered the suspect from the vehicle and helped him handcuff him, police said.

Democrat Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said the police's actions oppose the city's sanctuary resolutions and the police's general orders.

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Evans and Rochester Police Station (RPD) Chief David Smith held a press conference echoing over officials who answered calls from the Border Patrol.

“Officers on the scene verbally instructed residents to leave the vehicle, which is contrary to our policy,” Evans said. “Our policy is transparent and city police officers are not helping or participating in federal immigration efforts.”

Video from the incident shows what appears to be an HSI vehicle with some unmarked border patrols surrounding the maroon-colored piece van, which had ladders stuck to the roof. A police vehicle then arrives at the scene and two officers leave.

According to WXXinews, federal agents handcuffed the driver and Rochester police removed the others from the van.

Police Chief David Smith said he was worried that his officers responded to the scene despite the city's sanctuary policy. (Rochester City)

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Footage of the bystanders of the incident shows that they have argued with two HSI agents and demanded that their husband be seen, saying it is “not illegal” on each WXXINEWS.

It is unclear how many people have been detained and for what reasons. The city is located about 90 miles east of Niagara Falls and the US-Canadian border.

Evans told police chief David Smith he had instructed all members of the military to remind him of the city's orders. Smith also sided with Evans and scolded the officers.

“What concerns me after seeing footage from the body-covered camera is that despite the fact that we were called, we went to the light and sirens,” Evans said of the incident on Whitney Road near Lyell Avenue.

“The video shows that the urgency of multiple border patrol officers on the scene is completely lacking,” Smith said.

Smith read a report he gave to the EU officer after the incident.

“If this happens again, we're not about removing people from the car. We're not about handcuffing subjects,” Smith said. “We don't put a pat frisk on subjects and we will never restrain them or put them in the car.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Border Patrol and Ice but did not receive a response immediately.

The Rochester Police Locust Club Union defended the officers' actions and called Evans' statement a “complete overreaction.”

Rochester Police Station (RPD) officials were called to the scene Monday by Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents who stopped the van carrying eight residents. (Bloomberg via Christopher Dilt/Getty Images)

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The union said in a press release that when police arrived at the scene, the residents were not cooperatives and that police did not begin to stop police. The union said the officers had no information about van residents and asked about their immigrant status.

“Like law enforcement agencies showing that there is an important ongoing situation within the city of Rochester, officers responded under the lights and sirens, and we hope that their law enforcement officers will be suffering when they get there,” the press release reads.

They said the officers “had no problem at all except seeking help from other agencies.”