'Shocks the conscience': Judge slams immigration officers' use of force in Chicago, reports say

A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday slammed immigration officers’ use of force on members of the media and protesters, issuing an extensive injunction preventing federal law enforcement officers from continuing to use constraints.

“I find the government’s evidence to be simply not credible,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said in an oral ruling from the bench, according to the Chicago Tribune.

She pointed to officers’ repeated use of tear gas and pepper balls on demonstrators who were not resisting or threatening officers.

”The use of force shocks the conscience,” Ellis said Thursday.

President Trump ordered an increased law enforcement presence in Chicago earlier this year, where officials have been met with large protests — some of which have turned violent. Many Democratic leaders have been vocal in their opposition to the presence of federal officers in the region.

The judge on Thursday added that Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino “lied” after telling the court he did not use force while arresting individuals in the Windy City. Body camera footage showed him tackling a man.

“In one of the videos, Bovino obviously attacks and tackles the declarant, Mr. Blackburn, to the ground,” Ellis said, the Tribune reported. 

“But Mr. Bovino, despite watching this video [in his deposition] says that he never used force,” she added.

Ellis’s Thursday order follows a previous injunction that required officers to wear body cameras and give two warnings before using crowd control mechanisms.

The new order hammers down on the requirement in an effort to prevent the “chilling of First Amendment rights,” according to The Associate Press.

A written order is expected to follow.