Police SWAT drill mistaken for ICE raid in Delta Shores community
By James Taylor, CBS13 Photojournalist
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SACRAMENTO, California (KMAX, KOVR) — In July, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a South Sacramento Home Depot parking lot, and last week, community members began mobilizing after spotting what looked like another raid.
With fears continuing over ICE raids, community members like Junior Goris are on alert for this type of activity.
“Families are being separated. People are being snatched off the street. Rights are being violated,” said Goris, president of the Delta Shores Community Association.
A row of unmarked SUVs and armed men in tactical gear were spotted last Wednesday in the Delta Shores community, across from a construction site where workers are building new homes.
“Obviously, there was a fear among the laborers as well that a possible ice operation was being staged,” Goris said.
The unusual activity prompted City Councilmember Mai Vang to rush to the scene.
“I introduced myself as the councilmember, and I did request that they identify themselves, just given the fear in our community,” Vang said.
She was surprised to find out it was actually a Sacramento police department SWAT team training exercise inside one of the vacant model homes.
Vang said there should have been more community notification to prevent this type of scare.
“There is no justification for keeping this operation confidential from the surrounding community,” she said. “Our residents deserve transparency. I do think that an apology from our police department to the neighborhood association is warranted.”
We reached out to Sacramento police for comment. In a statement, they said, “Our SWAT team regularly trains in different environments to stay prepared for unique and critical incidents, and it’s never our intent to cause alarm.”
“Just a little communication would have alleviated this whole thing, but it just didn’t happen. There was a breakdown,” Goris said.
So far, there’s been no apology from the police department, but they do say they’re working with the city manager’s office to address community concerns.
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