The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday called for the city’s Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission to conduct a “thorough investigation” of St. Paul officers’ use-of-force during Tuesday’s federal immigration enforcement operation in St. Paul.

All seven city council members, Mayor Melvin Carter and Mayor-elect Kaohly Her, and community members have raised concerns about St. Paul officers deploying chemical irritants and projectiles, along with questions about the presence of the city’s officers when ICE agents were in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood Tuesday.

The city council will also be asking the PCIARC to examine the police department’s adherence to the city’s separation ordinance and seeking an audit of the public cost incurred. A resolution is planned for next Wednesday’s council meeting.

St. Paul’s separation ordinance says city employees are not authorized to enforce federal immigration policies, and Police Chief Axel Henry said Tuesday the city’s officers had not violated it. He said officers were not doing immigration enforcement, “but we do have a responsibility to make sure that laws aren’t broken in our city.”

Federal authorities arrested two

Federal authorities arrested two men on Tuesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said one was previously removed from the U.S. and illegally reentered. Another man is charged with assaulting a federal officer during Tuesday’s operation, accused of striking an ICE officer’s vehicle with his own vehicle.

The Department of Homeland Security said a large number of people, who a spokesperson referred to as “rioters,” arrived and they called in backup “to help secure the scene.”

DHS said in its statement that people on the scene “continued to ignore law enforcement commands and aggressively advanced on law enforcement. ICE used their training and deployed crowd control measures for the safety of the public and law enforcement.”

But on Wednesday, City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson said “no matter the explanations offered or the intentions behind yesterday’s events, the impact remains the same: trust between our community, our St. Paul Police Department, and the city has been broken.”

“I support the residents’ demands and the council in getting the answers we need to make sure yesterday never happens again on the East Side or in the city of St. Paul,” she said in a statement.

At least 3 journalists injured

Also on Wednesday, the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists said at least three local photojournalists were injured by the less-lethal munitions deployed by St. Paul police officers while they were covering the story.

“The three journalists hit by munitions shared with MNSPJ that they believe they were targeted by law enforcement for doing their jobs,” the society said in a statement. “Photojournalists are on the front lines of documenting history, and it is imperative that they are kept safe and their First Amendment rights are protected.”

Mayor Carter said the injuries to journalists are troubling.

“The conduct we saw yesterday was jarring,” he said in a statement. “I have directed a thorough review of all St. Paul police body-worn camera footage be done in a timely manner to understand exactly what happened and ensure full transparency and accountability.”

Police union: Officers were assaulted

Henry said Wednesday that a “full review of the department’s response to the incident on Nov. 25, 2025, is under review. This includes our response to resistance and aggression (RRA) and other related policies or practices.”

The review includes viewing hundreds of hours of body camera footage and footage shared by community members.

“We are also actively seeking to arrange meetings with local law enforcement leaders and federal law enforcement to create sustainable prevention strategies for our city and the rest of the state,” Henry said in a statement.

The St. Paul Police Federation said officers were responding to federal agents’ call for help.

“We responded only to protect lives and restore order — nothing more,” said a Wednesday statement from the police union. “We do not do immigration enforcement. Never have, never will.”

The federation said there was a “core of professional agitators” who “refused every order, attacked officers with frozen bottles and rocks, damaged patrol cars, and shouted, ‘Don’t let them leave.’

“Our officers, while being assaulted, used the absolute minimum force necessary to end the threat and get everyone home safe,” the statement continued. “Not one rioter was seriously injured. Several officers were struck by projectiles, yet every one of them showed extraordinary discipline and courage.”

PCIARC chairperson: Officers were safe in vehicles

Sarah Florman, Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission chairperson, wrote to Chief Henry Tuesday that she was at the scene during the aftermath of the ICE action when St. Paul officers remained in unmarked vehicles.

“They were engaging the protesters and I personally witnessed both pepper balls and two types of aerosol gas … deployed on peaceful protesters,” she wrote. “While a few protesters were blocking vehicles, many … were standing on sidewalks.”

Florman wrote that she saw objects thrown at police vehicles as they were being driven away, but didn’t see anyone throwing items at officers “or anyone impeding their departure.”

“Instead of driving away from the crowd, one car of SPPD officers stopped and opened the doors of their vehicles to deploy so much gas it created a white-out,” she wrote. “The officers were leaving the scene and stopped to deploy these agents even though they were safe inside their vehicles.”

During this time, Kerem Yücel of Minnesota Public Radio News was hit by a less-lethal munition in the shoulder. The senior visual journalist was taken to the hospital by an ambulance and has since been released.

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