The City of Rochester on Thursday released police body-worn camera footage from last month's controversial traffic stop with Border Patrol.

What You Need To Know

  • City of Rochester releases police body-worn camera footage of ICE traffic stop
  • Rochester City Council president says RPD officers actions overstepped sanctuary city policy
  • One person from the van was arrested by ICE and charged with illegal entry

The footage shows officers on March 24 responding to what Homeland Security Investigations agents had said was an emergency.

The video shows officers arriving to a relatively calm scene that runs counter to what Border Patrol described.

A number of Rochester police officers are seen handcuffing people from a van while border agents stood by.

This violated Rochester's sanctuary city policy as officers cannot enforce immigration laws.

A 25-year-old Guatemala citizen has been charged in federal court with illegal reentry to the U.S. Two others were also detained.

Rochester City Council President Miguel Melendez said in a statement Wednesday that while city officers can respond to Border Patrol agents in an emergency, it was getting involved in the detaining of people that city policy was breached.

“This was an overstep of what our sanctuary city policy says," he said in part. "What a sanctuary city policy says is that an officer can arrive in a supportive role and monitor the situation, but not take over the scene. Right. We shouldn't be putting anyone in cuffs. We shouldn't be asking people to come out of the car pulling them out of the car. I use the word pulling lightly. Right. So, asking people to come out of the car. This is a situation where federal agents, that's their authority. That's their purview. That's what they should be doing. We are there in a supportive manner.”