Dozens of ICE vehicles in Minnesota lack “essential” lights and sirens.

More than twenty Immigration and customs Vehicles On the ground in Minneapolis-St. Paul area It “currently lacks the necessary emergency lights and sirens” to be “compliant with law enforcement requirements,” according to the contract justification published In the Federal Register on Tuesday.

The document alleges that ICE is paying Whelen Engineering, a Connecticut-based company that specializes in “emergency lighting and warning technology.” $47,330.49 For 31 groups “ATLAS1” – apparently a typo in ATLAS, the name Product It’s sold by Whelen – which the company’s website describes as an “adaptable siren and travel light kit”. The document states that the ATLAS kits “will allow the vehicles to operate immediately and are compliant with law enforcement requirements in support of the current surge operation” out of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office in St. Paul, which Being Operations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.

“These vehicles were deployed before they were permanently retrofitted and currently lack the emergency lights and sirens necessary for practical use,” the document says.

The document also says that because of the “time-sensitive nature of the mission” undertaken by HSI agents, having to wait for the agency’s vehicles to be “permanently retrofitted” with lights and sirens “would adversely impact operational readiness, the safety of law enforcement officers, and public safety.”

HSI’s latest public handbook for agents conducting “emergency driving” — which is defined as driving during “official duties,” such as low- or high-risk pursuits, which may require breaking speed limits or violating certain traffic laws — appears to have been widely applied. Published in 2012. It states that any HSI vehicles without lights and sirens “shall not be used” for emergency driving, unless the officer is “observing or responding to an event that may adversely affect or threaten life, health or property or requires an immediate law enforcement response.”

The handbook adds that if an HSI officer is driving in an emergency but his vehicle does not have lights or sirens, he must “terminate” his involvement in the law enforcement operation, and an officer from another law enforcement agency that has lights and sirens must take over. This HSI Officer may continue to assist in a backup role, if necessary.

The handbook does not specify the exact number or location of lights that must be on an emergency vehicle, but it does state that officers are responsible for reviewing any state laws for emergency lights and sirens where they work. Minnesota law requires Law enforcement and emergency drivers must “sound an audible signal with a siren” and have at least one red light at the front of the vehicle, among other requirements.

According to the ATLAS set listing on Whelen’s Websitethe set includes many items that are also sold separately by the company, including Lighthouses and Light barsAnd also A Siren amplifier and Speaker. The kit comes in a portable case that looks like a wheeled suitcase and a small device with a microphone and buttons to control the other items in the kit. Willen describes ATLAS as “designed for quick installation” on any vehicle, regardless of make or model, and ideal for “law enforcement on the move.”

The listing comes six days after an ICE officer Jonathan Ross Renee Nicole Judd, 37, was shot to death in her car in Minneapolis, sparking mass protests and an outpouring Right-wing influencers Trying to take advantage of the chaos. After Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Announce Hundreds of additional ICE officers will join the 2,000 officers already in place in the Minneapolis area, the state of Minnesota, and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. File a federal lawsuit Against the Department of Homeland Security and its top officials, asking the judge to halt the ongoing federal immigration enforcement operation in the state.