Chicago TV station employee detained by federal agents disputes DHS account she threw objects at a Border Patrol car
By Bill Kirkos, CNN
Chicago (CNN) — Attorneys for a Chicago TV station employee detained by federal agents Friday dispute accusations from the Department of Homeland Security that she was taken into custody because she threw objects at a Border Patrol car, instead saying she was simply walking to a bus stop on her way to work.
Debbie Brockman, who works at WGN, plans to “pursue all legal avenues available” after being “violently detained” for seven hours before being released without charges, her lawyers said in a statement Tuesday.
“Ms. Brockman and her legal team adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone. Rather, Ms. Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work. Ms. Brockman feared for her life multiple times throughout this terrifying experience,” according to the statement released by the People’s Law Office.
In a video of the incident taken by a witness, a man is heard asking Brockman who she is, to which she responds, “I am Debbie Brockman, and I work for WGN.”
“Ms. Brockman stated that she worked for WGN. She added this information because she hoped someone would notify her employer so her coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day,” the law firm statement said. “Ms. Brockman wishes to clarify that at the time of this incident she was not acting in any professional capacity as an employee of WGN.”
WGN confirmed shortly after Brockman was detained that she works in the station’s creative services department, separate from the news department.
“During the morning hours this past Friday, Ms. Brockman was walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents,” according to the statement.
According to the law firm statement, “Ms. Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks. No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country, or anywhere else in the world.”
Brockman was arrested for assault on a federal law enforcement officer, according to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
US Border Patrol was conducting immigration enforcement when “several violent agitators used their vehicles to block in agents in an effort to impede and assault federal officers,” McLaughlin said in a statement Friday.
Officers struck a suspect’s vehicle to create an opening, and as they were driving, “Deborah Brockman, a U.S. citizen, threw objects at Border Patrol’s car,” McLaughlin said.
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