(NewsNation) — A senior Border Patrol official accused of throwing tear gas canisters during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago is due in court Tuesday.
A court filing includes a photo of Gregory Bovino throwing what appears to be a tear gas canister toward protesters in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. A protester filmed the incident, and attorneys allege Bovino appears to throw either one or two tear gas canisters over the heads of federal agents in front of him and in the direction of a crowd of demonstrators.
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Department of Homeland Security officials said Bovino threw the canister after protesters became violent and threw rocks, fireworks and other objects at agents. A spokesperson said Bovino was struck in the head with a rock.
Community members said a warning was never given.
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Earlier this month, a judge ordered uniformed immigration agents in Illinois to wear body cameras, the latest step in a lawsuit brought by news outlets and protesters accusing federal agents of using excessive force, including tear gas, during protests against immigration operations.
Bovino is chief of the Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, one of nine sectors on the Mexican border. He is also accused of violating the judge’s temporary restraining order, under which federal agents were barred from using riot control methods such as tear gas unless there is an imminent threat.
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Judge Sara Ellis has requested to see the body-camera footage from the incidents last week as part of Bovino’s deposition. She also reminded federal agents to preserve their body camera video.
Force by federal officers is ‘exempliary’: Bovino
Bovino has overseen the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement effort in Illinois, known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” which began Sept. 7. In an interview with CBS News on Thursday, Bovino said more than 2,700 arrests have been made during the effort.
In the interview, Bovino defended the use of force by federal officers, calling it “exemplary,” which he defined as “the least amount of force necessary to accomplish the mission.”
Bovino added that, to his knowledge, no federal agents or officers are under investigation for, or have been disciplined, for their use of force against protesters or others who have engaged with federal officers during the operation.
NewsNation’s Jeff Arnold and Mills Hayes contributed to this report.
