A federal immigration enforcement agent allegedly threatened to shoot and arrest an ambulance driver who was trying to transport an injured protester from an ICE facility in South Portland. The confrontation, which reportedly occurred on October 5, has drawn outrage from local officials and renewed scrutiny of federal agents’ behavior during civil unrest. Internal ambulance service reports and dispatch logs reveal that emergency workers were blocked and intimidated as they attempted to leave the facility.
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Confrontation at ICE Facility
According to reports obtained by Willamette Week, federal agents obstructed an ambulance carrying an injured protester suffering from a broken collarbone. The emergency vehicle was attempting to exit an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility when agents intervened. They allegedly insisted on accompanying the protester to the hospital despite having no legal authority or arrest paperwork. After initial discussions, agents agreed to follow the ambulance in their own vehicle but continued to delay its departure.
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Standoff Turns Hostile
As the ambulance inched toward the exit gate, a plainclothes officer wearing a partial face covering stepped in front of the vehicle, instructing the driver to stop to avoid hitting officers in riot gear standing a short distance ahead. The ambulance crew described the agents’ behavior as “aggressive” and said they stood “incredibly close” to the vehicle, making it difficult to move. The situation reportedly escalated as the crew attempted to calm tensions and de-escalate the standoff.
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Threats Against the Driver
The ambulance driver’s internal report described the shocking moment when one agent allegedly erupted in anger after the parked vehicle lurched slightly. The agent “pointed his finger at me in a threatening manner,” the driver recalled, “and began viciously yelling in my face, stating, ‘DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, I WILL SHOOT YOU, I WILL ARREST YOU RIGHT NOW.’” The driver said they were cornered in the seat and felt unsafe as the agents continued shouting and blocking their exit.
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Scene Deemed Unsafe
The driver later recounted that the incident left them shaken and fearful for their safety. “I was still in such shock that they were not only accusing me of such a thing, but crowding and cornering me in the seat, pointing and screaming at me, threatening to shoot and arrest me, and not allowing the ambulance to leave the scene,” they wrote in their report. The emergency worker added that they realized the situation had been unsafe from the start, as agents had effectively trapped the vehicle inside the facility.
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Witness Accounts Support Claims
Another crew member confirmed that the confrontation began after the ambulance moved slightly while being shifted into park. The small lurch, they said, was misinterpreted as a deliberate attempt to move forward. Once the misunderstanding was explained, one federal agent reportedly acknowledged, “This was not the first time this had happened.” The incident underscores repeated tensions between federal authorities and local emergency responders during protests in Portland.
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Reports Trigger Public Concern
The Willamette Week report, based on internal ambulance documents and public dispatch logs, has reignited local debate over ICE’s use of force and handling of protest situations. City officials and community leaders are now demanding a federal review of the agents’ actions. The allegations add to a growing list of complaints against federal officers accused of intimidation and interference with medical personnel during demonstrations.
