ICE's 'Shove' Of Woman Raises Questions Of Morristown Cops' Role In Operations

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Days after a video depicting what seems to be an ICE agent shoving a woman in Morristown went viral, several residents raised concerns about local police's role in ICE operations.

On Oct. 29, around 9 a.m., a group of 10 to 15 people, including civilians, ICE agents, and Morristown police officers, gathered outside the area of 8 Abbett Avenue. Several protesters and bystanders were also on Abbett Avenue to document ICE's activity.

One of those bystanders was a local woman, Alexis Brown, who, after a misunderstanding of a Morristown police officer's instructions, wandered toward an ICE agent who "body checked" her, prompting a heated exchange.

Related — ICE Agent ‘Body Checks’ Woman Filming Heated Exchange In North Jersey: See Video

The day of the incident, ICE requested that the Morristown Police Department provide crowd control during the ICE operation, local officials said.

Officers from the Morristown Police Department complied only after receiving the request from federal officials. Morristown authorities added they were not aware of the ICE operation beforehand.

During Morristown's Tuesday night council meeting, several residents, including Brown herself, cited concerns about not just ICE's activity, but the role played by the Morristown Police Department.

"Why were the Morristown police helping out the ICE agent?" asked one resident, who had seen the viral video. "They were there; they were doing crowd control; they were there for, in my opinion, helping out the ICE agents... Why are we spending our resources on time doing that?

"When ICE shows up, I see my police units going there and, in my opinion, helping them. It made me mad; I'm not going to lie," she continued.

Alexis Brown, who took the video and says she was shoved by the ICE agent without verbal warning, recounted her story to the council during public comment. She wanted the council to tell the public what is being done to keep her and other Morristown residents safe from federal agents.

Several other residents mentioned the incident, asked why the Morristown Police Department was involved, and inquired whether any investigation would take place.

Mayor Tim Dougherty reiterated that the town had no prior knowledge of ICE's operations that day, and adamantly denied that the police department "cooperates or collaborates with ICE."

"We didn't help (ICE); we kept control of the crowd itself; that was our own agenda," said Morristown Chief of Police Darnell Richardson. "We didn't know they were coming to our town; we don't encourage them to come to Morristown."

The Oct. 29 incident is just the latest in ICE activity in Morristown this year. Dozens of Morristown residents, largely Latinos, have been apprehended.

Dougherty said that due to ICE being a federal agency and having jurisdiction over the town, Morristown's "hands are tied."