Former ICE Agent Critiques Federal Use of Force Against Protesters

Concerns Over Federal Agent Tactics

• 💡 A former ICE agent, Eric Balliet, states that tactics used by federal agents against protesters, such as shooting pepper balls into faces and using chokeholds, are not aligned with his 25 years of policing and law enforcement experience.
• ⚠️ Balliet asserts that firing pepper balls at the head, neck, or solar plexus area is not in line with training and poses risks of serious injury or death.
• 🎯 He believes the use of force has been elevated to an excessive degree, citing incidents where agents fired pepper balls downward into crowds from elevation.

Commander's Defense of Operations

• 🗣️ Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino defends the use of pepper balls, stating that if someone strays into one, "that's on them."
• ✅ Bovino claims the use of less-lethal devices like pepper balls was in line with policy and applauds agents for protecting federal facilities.
• 📈 He describes the use of force observed as "exemplary," even when agents deployed pepper spray directly at protesters' faces.

Specific Incidents and Policies

• 💥 Videos show federal agents firing pepper balls at protesters, deploying pepper spray at close range, and using cars to move demonstrators.
• 🚗 Balliet characterizes driving cars into protesters as potentially deadly force, carrying a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury.
• 🚫 DHS policy explicitly prohibits chokeholds, yet they were observed being used on protesters, which Balliet deems a forbidden lethal force tactic.

Accountability and Public Trust

• ⚖️ A federal judge ordered immigration agents to stop deploying riot control weapons against peaceful protesters, yet tear gas was later deployed in a Chicago neighborhood.
• ❓ Bovino denies that any agents defied court orders or acted outside of CBP policy.
• 📉 Balliet expresses concern that the lack of accountability from leadership will cause irreparable harm to public trust in law enforcement.