SOUTH BURLINGTON — South Burlington Police said late Wednesday morning they were on scene as federal immigration enforcement officials were seeking to apprehend a person believed to be inside a house on Dorset Street.
The incident began around 7:40 a.m. Wednesday when South Burlington Police said they received a 911 call reporting a crash on Dorset Street involving several vehicles near the area of University Mall.
Police said they later learned that agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were trying to take a man into custody on Dorset Street when he fled in a vehicle and ICE vehicles then tried to box in the fleeing vehicle.
The fleeing driver crashed into those vehicles and then another motorist. That motorist, according to a South Burlington Police press release, was not injured.
The person whom authorities said they were seeking then fled that scene on foot, the release stated.
About 150 demonstrators, some wearing gas masks and goggles, gathered at the scene, forming a human chain surrounding the small, white, single-family home. The demonstrators put up a makeshift tent in front of the house where they were providing masks and food. Some were also singing and chanting, “ICE out,” punctuated by whistles. “ICE out” placards were placed on the ground nearby.
About a dozen federal agents with their faces covered by black cloth masks were standing in the rear of the property.
The South Burlington Police Department was not made aware of the immigration enforcement activity and only became aware as a result of the crash investigation, according to the release.
The release stated that officers were at a Dorset Street property as ICE agents had the house surrounded. ICE believed the person they were seeking was inside the house and was connected to a warrant “related to the individual’s immigration status,” according to the release.
The federal immigration authorities asked the South Burlington Police Department to assist at the scene due to a number of people who came to protest, according to the release.
“South Burlington officers responded and remain in the area with the purpose of ensuring the safety of federal law enforcement officers as well as the unimpeded ability for individuals to protest,” the release stated.
The release also stated that the South Burlington did not assist federal immigration authorities with their enforcement action.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, Dorset Street traffic southbound was closed by police at Garden Street and the southern entrance to the University Mall.
This story will be updated.
