Minneapolis family says tear gas flooded SUV during immigration crackdown

What the family says happened

A Minneapolis couple says they were caught between protesters and federal immigration officers during an operation in the Twin Cities and that a federal officer rolled a tear gas canister under their family’s SUV, flooding the vehicle with toxic fumes. The Jackson family said the incident left the parents and several of their six children, including an infant, in need of hospital treatment.

Destiny Jackson, 26, said the family was driving home after her middle schooler’s basketball game when they reached a blocked-off street in north Minneapolis. She said the area was near where federal authorities said a man had been shot in the leg while officers attempted to make an arrest.

Jackson said people were standing around and it seemed relatively peaceful, so the family stopped to ask what was happening. She said she then noticed her mother on the street and spent 20-30 minutes trying to persuade her to leave, while tensions increased nearby as she could hear flash-bang grenades and see smoke in the air.

“I was just trying to get her to go home,” Jackson said. “I’ve only seen these things on TV. Some end well, some don’t.”

Jackson said protesters filled the street around them and the family tried to drive away, but they encountered federal officers. She said the officers told them to leave, and the family waited until the officers walked past, believing it was their chance to get out after an officer shot and killed Renee Good while she was in her vehicle.

Jackson said that after that, an officer rolled a tear gas canister under their SUV. She said she heard a boom and the car’s airbags deployed, and she described her children crying and screaming that they couldn’t breathe. She said her 6-month-old son’s eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving, and that she rushed to unlock the doors and get the children out.

Response and hospital treatment

First responders received reports of an infant experiencing respiratory distress, and local authorities said they worked through the crowds of people to respond. The fire department said the infant was breathing and stable but in serious condition before he was taken to the hospital.

Jackson said she, her husband and three of the kids received hospital treatment, including the infant, a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old.

DHS statement

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said officers were responding to crowds of “rioters and agitators” and did not target the Jackson family or “their innocent children.”

Threats after posting online

Jackson said that since posting online about her family’s ordeal, she has received frightening threats and hateful messages. She said she tries not to focus on that reaction, saying, “I try not to pay attention to the negative. I know what was going on. I know what my intentions were,” and adding, “I was on my way home.”