Man federally charged with ramming ICE vehicle during raid that drew attention from city leaders

A man is accused of ramming an ICE squad vehicle during a raid in late November.

Jeffrey Lopez-Suazo has been charged in federal court with one count of assaulting and impeding a federal officer and one count of improper entry of an alien.

According to a federal indictment, ICE was at a home on the 600 block of Rose Avenue in St. Paul on Nov. 25 to arrest an undocumented immigrant who had previously been removed from the United States but later reentered.

While conducting surveillance on the home, ICE agents saw the person they were trying to arrest, as well as Lopez-Suazo, leave the home and get into separate vehicles. Agents tried to block the two vehicles in, but court documents state Lopez-Suazo drove off, heading east on Rose Avenue.

An ICE agent pursued Lopez-Suazo and said that he veered left, hitting the left side of the squad. “…from my perspective it was clear that Lopez-Suazo had intentionally struck my vehicle in an attempt to get away,” the indictment reads.

Lopez-Suazo then drove back to the home on Rose Avenue and ran back inside. Jail records show he is now in custody in Sherburne County.

ICE protest

The ICE raid drew hundreds of protesters. St. Paul officers were called in after the protesters broke a federal perimeter.

RELATED: St. Paul City Council calls for police use-of-force investigation following federal operation | Local, federal law enforcement presence in St. Paul draws crowd of protesters

According to St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry, the officers positioned themselves between the protesters and federal agents after getting reports that some of the protesters were armed with sticks and rocks.

He confirmed that officers used chemical irritants on the protesters. City leaders have since raised questions about officers’ use of force.

Henry emphasized that St. Paul law enforcement follows the city’s ordinances, which state that officers will work “cooperatively” with all federal agencies, but that St. Paul police officers do not enforce federal immigration laws.

He added that the incident is under review.
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