TOPEKA (KSNT) – Riley County Police Director Brian Peete joined the 27 News Morning Show to talk about recent federal immigration enforcement operations in the Little Apple.
Peete touched on recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that took place in Manhattan earlier in the month. He said federal agents did not notify the RCPD about their operation and that locals were the first to notify police about the ICE presence.
“So, in this particular case, ICE had an operation that they were running, it was a smaller-scale operation that we’ve come to find out,” Peete said. “So, we were notified by members of the community before we were notified by our federal law enforcement agencies.”
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Manhattan residents later held a protest against the ICE operation in their city. Peete issued a statement on the RCPD’s social media channels to locals shortly after ICE’s presence was confirmed in the city, calling for people to engage in responsible dialogue and mutual respect.
“Yes, in this particular case, I mean there may be times once or twice that, in the past, that we have been notified for criminal-related activities that were… that were part one related to violent crime which we were working with them to apprehend an offender, but in this particular case I think it was just immigrations enforcement and they didn’t notify us,” Peete said.
Peete also talked about the stabbing death of 24-year-old Manhattan resident Teray Robinson. Police arrested 39-year-old Billy Arnez, of Manhattan, in connection to the homicide case.
“Our hats off to the community, we’re very sorry for the victim, family and friends for their loss, but we will pursue justice,” Peete said.
We also asked Peete about Fake Patty’s Day, road construction in the city and having fun in Aggieville. You can hear what he had to say by watching the full interview above.
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