Dozens of ICE vehicles in Minnesota lack ‘necessary’ lights and sirens

More than two dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles on the ground in Minneapolis-St. Paul district “currently lacking the necessary emergency lights and sirens” to be “compliant with law enforcement requirements,” according to a contract justification. published in a federal docket Tuesday.

The document justifies ICE’s payment to Whelen Engineering Company, a Connecticut-based company specializing in “emergency warning and lighting technologies.” $47,330.49 for 31 “ATLAS1” kits — apparently a typo of ATLAS, the name of the product sold by Whelen, which the company’s website describes as an “adaptable travel light and siren kit.” The document explains that the ATLAS kits “would allow the vehicles to be immediately operational and compliant with law enforcement requirements to support the current surge operation” of the St. Paul office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which led operations in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

“These vehicles were deployed before being permanently upgraded and currently do not have the emergency lights and sirens necessary for operational use,” the document states.

The document also states that due to the “urgent nature of the mission” HSI agents are conducting, having to wait for agency vehicles to be “permanently equipped” with lights and sirens “would have a negative impact on operational readiness, law enforcement officer safety, and public safety.”

HSI’s most recent public manual for officers engaging in “emergency driving” – defined as driving during “official duties” such as low- or high-risk pursuits, which may require breaking speed limits or violating certain traffic laws – appears to have been published in 2012. It states that any HSI vehicle without lights or sirens “may not be used” in an emergency unless the officer is “conducting surveillance or responding to an event that could negatively impact or threaten life, health or property or require an immediate law enforcement response.”

The manual adds that if an HSI officer is driving in an emergency but their vehicle is not equipped with lights or sirens, they “must terminate” their participation in a law enforcement operation, and an officer from another law enforcement agency that has lights and sirens should take over. This HSI agent “can continue to assist in a backup role, if necessary.”

The manual does not specify the exact number or location of lights that must be on an emergency vehicle, but it does say that officers are responsible for reviewing all state laws regarding emergency lights and sirens where they operate. Minnesota State Law need Law enforcement and emergency service drivers must “sound a siren” and have at least one red light in the front of the vehicle, among other stipulations.

ICE did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

According to Whelen websiteThe ATLAS kit includes several items that are also sold separately by the company, including headlights And light barsas well as a siren amplifier And speaker. The kit comes in a portable case resembling a rolling suitcase and includes a small device with a microphone and buttons to control the other elements of the kit. Whelen describes ATLAS as “designed for quick installation” on any vehicle, regardless of make or model, and ideal for “law enforcement on the go.”

The list comes six days after the ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car in Minneapolis, sparking massive protests and an influx of demonstrators. right-wing influencers trying to capitalize on the chaos. After Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announcement that hundreds of additional ICE officers would join the 2,000 already in the Minneapolis area, across the state of Minnesota and in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul filed a federal complaint against DHS and its top officials, asking the judge to stop the federal immigration enforcement operation underway in the state.