Surveillance footage from Happy Nails
On the morning of Sept. 12, two immigration officers pulled over a man driving a silver Subaru on a busy street in a Chicago suburb. Less than a minute later, the driver had been shot in the neck, and the Subaru had crashed into a truck more than 100 feet away.
Department of Homeland Security officials said the driver, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, hit and dragged one of the officers a significant distance with his car as he tried to flee the scene, seriously injuring the officer, who shot and killed him in self-defense.
Local officials and immigrant advocates say the death of Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez, a Mexican immigrant, was unwarranted and reflects a dangerous escalation of arrest tactics amid an aggressive federal operation in the Chicago area. Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez appeared to be unarmed and officials have not said that he had any weapons or a criminal record beyond traffic offenses.
The New York Times analyzed surveillance and bystander videos to break down the scene; interviewed policing experts; and reviewed law enforcement policies to understand how an attempted immigration arrest turned deadly so quickly.
Trailing
Shortly before 9 a.m., surveillance footage from a nearby business shows Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez, 38, driving west on Grand Avenue in Franklin Park, Ill. He had just dropped off his two sons at a nearby elementary school and day care.
D.H.S. officials say Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez was in the country illegally and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were targeting him for arrest. The surveillance footage shows them following him in an unmarked Jeep before turning on their emergency lights.
Surveillance footage from Valles Tires Shop
D.H.S. said on Friday that it had made almost 550 arrests in the Chicago area since starting “Operation Midway Blitz” this month — raiding homes, businesses and arresting people on the street — a sharply increased level of enforcement.
Stopping
Surveillance footage from a second local business shows Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez stops his car in the right-most traffic lane. The officers pull their Jeep in front of Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez’s car diagonally, blocking the car’s path and part of the second traffic lane, causing traffic to begin to slow in both directions.
Aerial image by Vexcel Imaging
Note: Locations are approximate.
The New York Times
Two ICE officers wearing protective vests get out of the Jeep and approach Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez’s car, one on the passenger’s side and the other on the driver’s side.
Surveillance footage from Happy Nails
Two policing experts who reviewed the footage at the request of The Times said officers who were attempting to prevent a suspect from fleeing would typically block the car both in front and behind.
Backing up
Both officers lean down to talk to Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez through the open windows of the car, resting their hands on the window frames. The officer on the passenger side, Officer 1, appears to try to open the door, then briefly reaches inside the car.
About eight seconds after the officers first approach the car, Mr. Villegas-Gonzales begins to reverse and turn the car to drive past the officers’ Jeep.
Officer 2, on the driver’s side, moves backward alongside the car with his hands on top of the partially open window. The movement brings him close to other traffic that is passing in the lane behind him.
Surveillance footage from Happy Nails
Officer 1 steps back from the car and pulls out his gun, pointing it at the car, but does not fire.
Aerial image by Vexcel Imaging
Note: Locations are approximate.
The New York Times
Driving forward
After traveling backward about 50 feet, the car stops reversing and Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez begins to drive forward.
Surveillance footage from Happy Nails
At this point, the driver’s side of the car is out of view of the surveillance camera and Officer 2 can no longer be seen. As the car accelerates forward, Officer 2 remains out of view.
Officer 1 runs behind the car with his gun raised, but appears to lower it as he runs.
Shots fired and crash
What happens next is not captured on camera. The Times synchronized audio from a different nearby surveillance camera recording with the footage of the stop to better understand the scene.
Source: Aerial image by Vexcel Imaging
Note: Locations are approximate.
The New York Times
Two gunshots can be heard in quick succession about six seconds after the car begins to move forward.
A Times analysis of the scene found that the car traveled about 90 feet and accelerated to about 15 miles per hour by the time of the first shot.
Given what the video shows about the position of Officer 1, and other evidence in the aftermath, including visible damage to the car and the location of Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez’s wounds, it is most likely Officer 2 who fires the shots. This is consistent with D.H.S.’s description of the encounter.
Three seconds later, the sound of the car crashing is heard. From the point the car begins to move forward until it eventually crashes, it travels approximately 170 feet.
Aftermath
A video posted to social media by a bystander shows, about 30 seconds later, both officers are at the side of Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez’s car, which has crashed into the side of a truck.
The driver’s side window is half down and the door seems to be locked. There is a tear in Officer 2’s pants near the left knee.
He pulls out a tool from his vest and uses it to shatter the driver’s side window. He then reaches inside to open the door and pulls Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez out of the car and toward the sidewalk.
Aerial image by Vexcel Imaging
Note: Locations are approximate.
The New York Times
In another bystander video, the officers begin to bandage Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez and shout to bystanders to call for emergency assistance.
The officers perform C.P.R. as emergency responders arrive.
Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez was transported to Loyola University Medical Center nearby and pronounced dead.
The police and first responders at the scene after an ICE officer shot and killed Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez while attempting to detain him in Franklin Park, Ill.
Octavio Jones/Reuters
The Cook County medical examiner said Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez died of multiple gunshot wounds, but the full autopsy report may take weeks to complete. According to two sources with knowledge of the investigation, Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez was shot in the neck.
Officer 2 was also transported to an area hospital. A D.H.S official said the officer was released the next day and had suffered “severe back injuries, lacerations to hands and substantial tears in knee.”
Investigation continues
The shooting has drawn the attention of the Mexican government and local elected officials who are demanding a thorough investigation. ICE said it will conduct an independent review.
ICE policy prohibits officers from using deadly force merely to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject, but they may use deadly force if they have a “reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death to the officer or to another person.” Policies for other federal law enforcement agencies say officers should not use deadly force against a moving vehicle in most cases and should attempt to move out of the way.
Law enforcement experts who reviewed the episode at the request of The Times said they expected the use of force would ultimately be determined to be justified, because the officer would have reasonably believed his life was in danger. But they suggested the officers’ tactics most likely made the situation worse.
“My question would be whether or not it’s necessary,” said Tom Nolan, a former Boston police lieutenant. “In my opinion, this didn’t have to happen the way that it did. And it happened because the agents put themselves in a position that made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to withdraw to safety.”
D.H.S. did not say why Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez was initially targeted for arrest and did not provide details about his immigration status. In a statement after the shooting, the agency said he was “a criminal illegal alien with a history of reckless driving.”
Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez, a single father of two young boys, was originally from Mexico. His family told local news media he had been living in the Chicago area since 2007 and worked as a cook. A search of court records returned a few traffic offenses since then, including speeding and driving with an expired license and without insurance. The most recent was in 2019.
Manuel Cardenas, a lawyer who represented Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez in previous traffic cases, said he knew his client to be focused on his family and making a living in Chicago. “He was just a working man,” he said.
People gathered to rally and mourn near the location where Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez was shot and killed in Franklin Park.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
D.H.S. has not identified the officers. In a statement, the agency said both officers were “well seasoned and trained professionals.” The officer who fired his weapon had been with ICE since 2021, the statement said. Earlier, he had served in another federal law enforcement agency and in the military and had worked as an E.M.T. He had not previously fired his weapon in any incident.
“Our law enforcement officer followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced the law to protect the public and law enforcement,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at D.H.S. “Viral social media videos and activists encouraging illegal aliens to resist law enforcement not only undermine public safety, but also the safety of our officers and those illegal aliens being apprehended.”
Traffic stops can be among the most dangerous encounters between civilians and law enforcement officers of any kind.
Jay Wadsworth, a police tactics instructor and expert in use of force, said that in the courses he teaches on vehicle stops, he tells officers it is dangerous to reach into a car if the vehicle can still move. Mr. Nolan also said the officers should have stayed farther away from the car while talking with Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez.
A former senior ICE official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, said that in the past ICE officers did not receive extensive training in traffic stops and that ICE historically did not make many such stops because the agency focused on other enforcement. Under President Trump, ICE has significantly increased street arrests and traffic stops.
Ms. McLaughlin said all ICE officers receive instruction in how to safely conduct vehicle stops.
At least two other people have died after an encounter with ICE since Mr. Trump took office and began an expansive nationwide immigration crackdown, and at least 15 people have died while in ICE custody.
