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Residents press Broadview board over ICE facility, protest curfew and police departures
Summary
Protesters and nearby residents used public comment at Broadview’s Sept. 29 meeting to challenge a village executive order limiting protests, accuse police leadership of creating a hostile workplace, and seek exemptions for volunteer first-aid services; Mayor Thompson defended balancing protest rights with resident safety and called for federal inspection of the ICE facility.
At a Sept. 29 Broadview Village Board meeting, residents and protesters used the public-comment period to press the mayor and trustees over activities at a nearby ICE facility, the village’s new protest-hour rule and what several speakers described as leadership failures at the Broadview Police Department.
Angela Patterson told the board she was “here tonight to bring attention to a crisis of leadership within the Broadview Police Department,” and listed a string of recent resignations and internal investigations, saying, “Where is the accountability?” Patterson named several officers and alleged nearly half of the 25-officer department had been under investigation over the past year.
Other commenters urged the village to change course on a new executive order that restricts protests on village property to 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Anjelikatherpal argued the rule “cuts off one of our most basic constitutional rights” and is not narrowly tailored, warning it would silence working residents who can only gather after 6 p.m. Adam Gottlieb urged the board to reverse the order and said protesters are exercising First Amendment rights.
Volunteers who run a first-aid tent near protest activity asked the board for an exemption after the tent was reportedly ransacked. Karen Byron, who said she is a Westchester neighbor, described treating chemical exposures and asked the board to “please allow…keep the tent where it is” to reduce burdens on first responders.
James Madigan presented photographs he said showed a man first in Broadview Police custody and later turned over to ICE and asked the mayor to explain how transfers to federal custody occurred. “How could a person be in the custody of the Broadview Police Department, and then be turned over to ICE?” he asked.
Mayor Thompson responded at length, saying she supports peaceful protest but must also balance resident safety and business operations. She defended the police department and called for outside review of the ICE facility, urging “all federal congressional elected officials” to inspect conditions and verify plumbing and the well-being of individuals inside. “I have always and will always support the First Amendment and the right of people to peacefully protest,” Thompson said, while emphasizing the need to protect residents with developmental disabilities and local businesses from ongoing disruptions.
The board did not amend the executive order or take formal action on protesters’ requests during the meeting. Public comment—on staffing, protest restrictions and the village’s relationship with federal authorities—dominated the latter half of the agenda and prompted calls for federal inspection and local clarifications about transfers to ICE.
