😳🚨 WRONG MAN, WRONG DETENTION, NOW EVANSTON POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING: FEDERAL AGENTS DETAIN U.S. CITIZEN THEY WERE ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY ELSE

Baby... THIS is exactly why “he looks like the guy” cannot be the whole damn investigation.

An Evanston man ended up at the hospital Sunday morning after federal agents detained him during what they described as a fugitive investigation.

There was just one rather LARGE problem.

HE WASN’T THE MAN THEY WERE LOOKING FOR.

And after the agents figured that out, authorities say they also learned something else:

He is a U.S. citizen. 

🚨 SO WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

According to Evanston police, this happened around 9:49 a.m. Sunday, September 20, near Howard Street and Dodge Avenue.

Police were initially called after someone reported hearing two men arguing and someone saying an individual was going to be taken into custody.

When Evanston officers arrived in the 1700 block of Howard Street, they found an adult man on the ground with several people helping him.

The man reported injuries to his head, neck and teeth, and officers requested an ambulance.

Meanwhile, another Evanston officer encountered two SUVs near Dodge Avenue and Brummel Street.

According to police, a man wearing plain clothes and a vest marked “POLICE” with federal law-enforcement markings identified himself as a federal agent conducting a fugitive investigation.

🤦🏾‍♀️ THEY SAID HE LOOKED LIKE THEIR GUY

Here comes the part that's going to have people asking questions.

The federal agent told Evanston police that agents encountered someone who resembled the person they were actually searching for.

According to the agent's account to police, the Evanston man refused to provide identification, so agents detained him for fingerprinting. The agent also said the man resisted being detained.

Eventually, federal agents determined:

Wrong man.

They also learned he was a U.S. citizen, according to Evanston police.

He was released.

Sir...

So we went from “That's our fugitive!”

to

“Wait... that's not him.”

I know facial recognition can have a bad day, but apparently somebody's eyeballs needed a software update too. 😐

😳 AND THE MAN ENDED UP AT THE HOSPITAL

This wasn't simply an awkward “Sorry, wrong person” situation.

Evanston police later met with the resident at a local hospital and documented his injuries.

Video obtained by local news outlets shows federal agents holding the man on the ground. A witness told CBS Chicago that it appeared one of the agents struck him, although Evanston police have not confirmed that allegation.

Police also said an Evanston officer noticed blood on a federal agent's hands.

According to the agent, he was injured while trying to handcuff the man. The agent declined medical treatment.

So Evanston police now have video, photographs, body-camera footage and other evidence to sort through before determining exactly what happened.

🚙 AND THEN THE FEDERAL AGENTS LEFT

The federal agent told Evanston police that five federal agents had been operating in separate vehicles in the area.

He said the person they were actually searching for had Chicago connections and an outstanding arrest warrant.

The agent also told Evanston police that the federal team left after protesters began gathering because agents feared they might be attacked.

Meanwhile, the man who wasn't their fugitive was headed for medical treatment.

WHAT A MORNING.

👮🏾‍♀️ EVANSTON POLICE ARE NOW INVESTIGATING

Evanston police say this is an active and ongoing investigation.

The department is preserving body-camera and squad-car video, conducting a video canvass and collecting cellphone footage, surveillance recordings and photographs from witnesses. Police Chief Schenita Stewart also went to the hospital and spoke with the resident.

As of the latest reporting I found, federal authorities had not publicly provided a detailed response addressing the incident beyond the account agents gave Evanston police. NBC Chicago reported that ICE, Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to its requests for comment Monday.

So there are still important unanswered questions, particularly about exactly how the man was injured and whether the force used during the detention was lawful.

🎙️ LADY RED SAYS...

Now I'm trying to understand something.

You are conducting a fugitive investigation.

You have multiple federal agents.

Multiple vehicles.

Federal resources.

Fingerprint technology.

And somehow we still ended up at:

“Well... he kinda looked like him.”

😐

BABY, THIS IS NOT FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE.

You cannot just say, “Yep, looks close enough. I'll take it.”

And yes, the federal agent says the man refused to identify himself and resisted detention. That account deserves to be included.

But here's the fact nobody is disputing:

THE MAN WASN'T THEIR FUGITIVE.

Now an American citizen says he was injured, Evanston police photographed those injuries, and local police are investigating what happened.

So before anybody turns this into a political screaming match, let's get the videos, establish exactly what happened and determine whether anybody crossed the legal line.

Because when law enforcement gets the person wrong, getting everything that happens afterward right becomes even more important.

And somebody needs to explain how we got from fugitive investigation to wrong citizen in the hospital.

Because THAT math ain't mathing.

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