Parents of teen tossed to ground, detained by apparent federal agent demand answers

A teen in Hoffman Estates was thrown to the ground by what appeared to be a federal agent. She and two of her friends were detained for hours before they were released over the weekend.

Her parents are speaking out after they say their daughter, 18-year-old Evelyn, is still shaken from the experience.

Evelyn’s parents said her boyfriend got a call that ICE was in his neighborhood. They went to warn people who live there and recorded the officers. This led to a violent arrest, Homeland Security said they did not take part in.

Sirens and undercover law enforcement cars flooded this Hoffman Estates neighborhood on Friday.

The incident captured on video shows Evelyn getting pulled out of the passenger seat. She is then thrown to the ground, all while saying she is not resisting arrest. All while the officer handcuffed her and appeared to put a knee on her back.

“I couldn’t protect my child,” Gerado said.

Evelyn’s parents, Gerardo and Jazmin, said those images are something they cannot get out of their minds.

“They were telling them they were U.S. citizens, and they didn’t care. It was very scary to see that video,” Jazmin said.

They say their daughter and her two friends were taken in cars to the Hoffman Estates Police Department parking lot, where they sat for hours.

“While we were there, we were asking when they were going to be released and what were going to be the charges. Trying to figure out some kind of information because they weren’t giving us any information,” Gerado said.

At that point, they say they didn’t know if they would see their daughter again. They were all released after hours of waiting, but there is confusion about which department these officers are with.

In a tweet, the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on Evelyn’s arrest video, saying, “Imagine being so desperate to demonize law enforcement you post a video from a burglary arrest Chicago police made over a year ago. This isn’t even ICE.”

Hoffman Estates police, however, said ICE was in the area on Friday. 

A statement sent to CBS News Chicago reads in part, “the only interaction we had with ICE was when they came to the police department to file a police report reference an incident that occurred during their enforcement. They ultimately decided to complete the report this week with us and have not completed that yet.”

Evelyn’s parents said they want someone to hold accountability.

“Isn’t the government supposed to protect and serve? Isn’t the law officers are supposed to protect and serve? Why would we lie about this?” Gerado said.

Evelyn’s parents said they are taking legal action.

CBS News Chicago reached out to Homeland Security to confirm if agents were here in Hoffman Estates on Friday, but did not hear back.