San Bernardino residents demand answers after federal agents' shooting; police role questioned

The city manager told the San Bernardino City Council that federal agents were involved in a shooting near a resident’s vehicle and later asked San Bernardino police for crowd-control assistance, prompting more than three dozen speakers at Tuesday’s meeting to demand transparency and local protections for immigrant residents.

The matter was raised in the city manager’s opening update, when he described two related incidents that began earlier the same day. “Under the California Values Act of 2018, California law enforcement agencies are prohibited from assisting federal officials with immigration enforcement and at this time it was unclear whether the person involved … was wanted. So the police did clear the scene at that time because we did not want to be involved in immigration enforcement,” the city manager said, later adding that police returned when federal officers requested help because a crowd formed and “it was determined that the subject … was wanted for assaulting a federal officer.”

The statement underscored why residents pressed the council for more detail. “My organization responded and had to help their grief-stricken families to locate them,” said Brian Sanchez, identified in public comment as a lead organizer for the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, referring to an unrelated July 7 Home Depot raid. “The city council must release all communications between the San Bernardino Police Department and federal agents,” he said.

Several speakers described Saturday’s events in the neighborhood where federal agents confronted a family, saying the agents were masked and did not show warrants or clear identification. “We can’t normalize terrorizing our residents,” said Jeanette McCaig during public comment. Natalia Saka, regional policy advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), urged the council to require immigration enforcement agents to clearly identify themselves when operating in the city: “Clear identification is a simple common-sense step that strengthens safety for everyone,” she said.

Organizers from labor and immigrant-rights groups pressed the council for three concrete steps: (1) release all communications between the San Bernardino Police Department (SBPD) and federal agents; (2) create and fund a legal-assistance pool for immigrant residents; and (3) adopt stricter guidelines governing mutual aid or assistance between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers.

Council members signaled they would pursue additional information and follow-up. “I will be bringing forward the questions,” said Council Member Martinez, who asked the city manager and police chief for protocols and the factual record that led officers to reengage with federal agents. The mayor and other council members thanked residents for speaking and said staff would be asked to report back.

No ordinance, resolution or staff directive was adopted at the meeting. The city manager’s account and the public comments were entered into the record for further review, and council members said they would request briefings from the police chief and city legal staff on the facts, on SBPD’s policies under the California Values Act, and on whether communications with federal agents can be released to the public.