Millcreek mayor: ‘ICE needs to do their job the right way’

SALT LAKE CITY — Repercussions of a traffic stop involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and two Utah police departments were felt during Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini’s state of the city address Monday night.

Along with outlining the financial health of Millcreek, Silvestrini let constituents know what he’d heard after he sent a letter to ICE asking the agency to clarify its actions.

The traffic stop in question

The Jan. 26 traffic stop at 4900 South and 900 East became a flash point between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, Murray and Unified Police, and an individual, Brandon Colin, who claimed the ICE agents tried to run him off the road.

 

In footage from UPD body cameras, ICE agents are heard saying that 20-year-old Brandon Colin, nearly hit them and had to be pulled away from the street.

The ICE agents were also concerned that Colin honked his horn at them. Colin admits he honked his horn, according to reporting by KSL TV, because he saw them arresting a woman. 

When Murray police arrived, ICE agents told them they saw a weapon in Colin’s car. Colin said it was a box cutter he used at work. Colin was handcuffed while a UPD officer checked Colin’s information. A UPD officer later removed the handcuffs.

Meanwhile, ICE agents said they would not provide statements about the incident.

Silvestrini’s letter

On January 28, KSL TV reported that Silvestrini sent ICE a letter. The subject line read, ‘Concern about unprofessional conduct by ICE officers in Millcreek, Utah.’

Silvestrini told KSLNewsRadio he felt the ICE officers had not been “straight with them.”

“They refused to sign witness statements at the end of the interviews that they had with our officers,” he said. “Their stories were conflicting, and they actually were trying to insist that pretty serious charges be pressed against the fellow that they had pulled over.”

 Silvestrini said that he does not want to give the wrong impression, and the he expects police from his city to cooperate with ICE.

“I want to make it clear, both our police department and me personally, we are going to cooperate with ICE and deporting dangerous felons, dangerous criminals. That’s the law, and that’s what we’ll do,” he said.

“But our officers have to trust these guys … that trust is critical,” Silvestrini said.

Proud of the risk his officers took

During the original traffic stop on Jan. 26, after ICE asked Brandon Colin if he was a U.S. citizen, police from Millcreek and from Unified Police showed up. KSL TV reported that’s when Colin was handcuffed.

But Unified Police later took the cuffs off, and said they were concerned about the driver’s treatment.

Mayor Silvestrini said that was a bold move.

“I felt they really did the right thing, the way they approached this and the way they questioned a federal authority on stuff that didn’t make sense to them,” Silvestrini said.

Response to Silvestrini’s letter to ICE

In his letter to ICE, Silvestrini asked what action the agency planned to take about the traffic stop. And he asked to be kept appraised about any disciplinary action against the ICE agents.

“They did respond,” he said. “They sent me the same form response that I’ve seen them send to other media outlets and Unified Police Department as well. (It said) they take issues seriously and that they will investigate. So that’s all I’ve heard.”

But he’s heard from others. Silvestrini said he’s received hundreds of emails, cards, and letters from people in his city and all across Utah. 

“The response to this has been about 35 to one positive,” he said.

 

 

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