Rodriguez says ICE agents' actions traumatized the neighborhood and apologizes to affected families
Member of the Harrisburg City Council
“Recently our neighborhood was traumatized by the acts of ICE agents firing rounds at an individual in the city. ... To the families traumatized due to these actions, I say to you we are truly apologetic and stand with you.”
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Recording of the Harrisburg City Council's July 14, 2026 legislative session. Councilman Ralph Rodriguez opens the meeting with an invocation that refers to the July 1 shooting.
Reporting
About this source
PennLive reports that residents pressed the Harrisburg City Council on July 14 to hold ICE accountable and to explain the city's response, and that Councilman Ralph Rodriguez addressed the shooting in the invocation.
Reporting
About this source
abc27 reports on public comment at the July 14 council meeting and says Councilman Ralph Rodriguez's remarks were the council's first mention of the shooting. abc27 spells his surname Rodrigues.
Before the quotation
Rodriguez spoke during the invocation that opens the council's July 14 legislative session. abc27 reported that his remarks were the council's first mention of the shooting.
After the quotation
In the same remarks he said the council had acted to the fullest extent of its municipal power by banning city cooperation with ICE agents, but that laws are only as effective as the enforcement behind them. Residents then pressed the council to seek an independent investigation.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Was the ICE officer justified in firing at a driver during a Harrisburg vehicle stop?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the officer's decision to fire. Rodriguez describes the agents' firing as an act that traumatized the neighborhood and apologizes to the families affected, which criticizes the shooting itself and goes beyond the city's response to it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Was the ICE officer justified in firing at a driver during a Harrisburg vehicle stop?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“Was anybody at risk of serious physical injury or death? And the answer is no ... I don’t think there’s a need for deadly physical force in that situation.”Read statement
“He takes a little sideswipe damage, but he doesn’t ram his way out of that, by any means. ... If you’re saying that the officers are firing because the car was trying to run them over, then they’d be firing at the car as it was heading towards them, not speeding away from them”Read statement
“Whatever crimes someone may have committed, and whatever charges they may face, fleeing from law enforcement is not punishable by death. The use of deadly force must always be justified. ... What we see in the video appears inconsistent with the U.S. Department of Justice's Policy 1-16.200, Use of Deadly Force and Prohibited Restraining Techniques, which permit such force only in narrowly defined circumstances involving an imminent threat. To truly serve justice, I believe this situation warrants a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation.”Read statement