Metro Transit police are conducting an internal investigation into a report of one of their officers asking a passenger on a light-rail train if he was “here illegally.”
Video of an officer asking a passenger questions was posted on Facebook late Friday afternoon, and was immediately shared hundreds of times; the video states the interaction occurred on Sunday, May 14, on the Minneapolis Blue Line.
The officer is facing the camera, and the man he is interviewing is facing away. As a result, the man’s responses are largely unintelligible.
The officer asks the man’s name, then replies, “That’s not what you gave me.” He then asks for a state ID, then asks, “Are you here illegally?”
At that point, the person taking the video interjects, asking the officer, “Are you guys authorized to act as immigration police?”
The officer shrugs, and replies, “No, not necessarily.”
The man taking the video says, “Then I would stay out of that, it’s very touchy legal territory … I would not act on behalf of another agency if you’re not legally empowered to do so.”
The officer says, “OK,” and the video ends.
Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington posted his own statement to Facebook less than an hour after the video was posted. A department spokesman confirmed that Harrington’s statement related to the interaction captured in the Facebook video.
Harrington said someone outside the department alerted him to the reported incident, and he “immediately called for an Internal Affairs investigation to gather details about this incident and to report back to me as quickly as possible.”
He added that, “It is not the practice of the Metro Transit police to inquire about the immigration status of our riders,” and later added that his officers “have not been trained or empowered to act as Federal Immigration authorities.”
He then quoted department policy that Metro Transit officers treat everyone equally and recognize “the dignity of all persons, regardless of their immigration status.”
By contrast, Minneapolis and St. Paul police officers are specifically barred under city ordinance from asking people about their immigration status. The Metro Transit police department is governed by the Metropolitan Council.
Harrington noted in his response that the officer works for his department part time. He said no further details were available Friday.
There was a recent, similar social media outcry after Metro Transit officers were seen working with U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials.
In response, Metro Transit put out a statement saying the officials were “Transportation Security Administration or Air Marshals,” that had worked with the department for years. Rather than immigration enforcement actions, they were typically used to help police big, special events like Minnesota Vikings games, the statement said.
