San Bernardino immigration operation under scrutiny after clash

A federal immigration enforcement operation in San Bernardino escalated rapidly Saturday morning when unnamed agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded a moving truck, shattered two windows and fired shots after the driver refused to exit and allegedly rammed two officers, according to authorities and a series of first-hand accounts. The incident prompted a large police response, drew in federal agencies, and has sharpened the focus on how such operations are carried out in California, where state law limits local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Officials said the clash began in a residential neighborhood when immigration agents conducting a targeted enforcement action encountered a driver at an intersection. The driver did not stop and instead accelerated toward the officers, striking two CBP personnel with the vehicle, DHS described in its account of the incident. In what authorities characterized as self-defense, a customs and border protection officer discharged his weapon. The vehicle then fled the scene, and police later located it at a nearby residence. The condition of the driver and the exact injuries to officers were not immediately clarified in initial...