Councilwoman Pickard says "we, so far, only know what ICE agents reported happened that morning"
Allison PickardAnne Arundel County Councilwoman for District 2
Pickard, who represents the Glen Burnie area on the Anne Arundel County Council, said "we, so far, only know what ICE agents reported happened that morning" and said she has concerns that federal agents lack "the same kind of equipment or technology" as county police.
“In Glen Burnie, we, so far, only know what ICE agents reported happened that morning ... I have concerns that federal ICE agents are not in our community with the same kind of equipment or technology to make sure that all of the information gets out about what happens in these situations”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was ICE justified in shooting Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins in Glen Burnie, Maryland?
On December 24, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stopped a white work van driven by Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and fired at it, wounding him. The Department of Homeland Security said that day that he refused to turn off the engine, rammed ICE vehicles and drove directly at officers, and that they fired defensively; it also said a passenger in his van was injured. On January 8, 2026, Anne Arundel County police said the injured passenger was already in custody in an ICE vehicle, and DHS then said he was in one of the ICE vehicles. An FBI affidavit says two ICE officers fired, one about one to two shots and the other multiple shots, and attributes to them accounts that the van moved toward officers at speed and that one believed he would be struck, while Sousa-Martins told the FBI he drove away because he believed he would be shot. He pleaded guilty on April 27 to destroying government property, and a count of resisting or interfering with federal officers was dismissed. The dispute is whether the officers' decision to fire was warranted by the threat they faced, and whether DHS's account of the encounter was accurate.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Reports residents' and County Councilwoman Allison Pickard's reactions to the shooting and describes the police clarification. WBAL said it had not received a response from ICE on whether officers wore body cameras.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
WBAL reported that residents and county leaders sought clarity about the Glen Burnie shooting after a similar shooting in Minneapolis, and after county police clarified that one injured man was already in ICE custody.
After the quotation
Pickard said she hopes video evidence can provide a clearer picture. WBAL said it received no response from ICE on whether its officers wore body cameras during the shooting.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the officers' decision to fire and DHS's account of it. Pickard neither endorses nor rejects the shooting; she says only ICE's account was known and that she hopes video evidence will clarify what happened, so her position depends on evidence not yet public. Challenges the characterization loses because she does not dispute any part of the account.
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More from this case
Read the full caseAttorney Alice Barrett says ICE's use of lethal force against Sousa-Martins "was excessive and dangerous"
“This plea agreement and the hearing at which he was sentenced don't change anything about the bottom line of his case, which is that ICE's use of lethal force against him was excessive and dangerous”Read statement
Magistrate Judge Austin says the court has "some skepticism about some of what the government has presented"
“The court has some skepticism about some of what the government has presented based on some individuals who have not been identified or appeared in court ... This would not be the first case where an affidavit was found not to adequately capture the circumstances”Read statement
Van Hollen says "DHS lied about the circumstances surrounding a nonfatal shooting" in Maryland
“In my State of Maryland, DHS lied about the circumstances surrounding a nonfatal shooting, and they were exposed in their lies because of a local county investigation that showed that DHS was plain wrong.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Councilwoman Pickard says "we, so far, only know what ICE agents reported happened that morning"". First published: 2026-09-25. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/2582-pickard-who-represents-the-glen-burnie-area-on