Sheriff: Officer seen with ICE in Morristown was responding to crash

The Morris County Sheriff’s Officer pictured online Tuesday with a masked federal ICE agent in Morristown was responding to a motor vehicle accident — not participating in an immigration enforcement action.

That’s the word from Sheriff James Gannon, countering speculation on social media that his office was defying a state Attorney General directive barring such collaborations under most circumstances.

The sheriff said one of his officers was waved down by ICE at around 8:27 a.m., as his officer was driving down Speedwell Avenue to replace a battery for a Project Lifesaver client.

Project Lifesaver provides tracking devices to help law enforcement assist families in finding loved ones with dementia or other conditions who wander off.

“The Immigration and Customs Officer had reportedly been involved in a motor vehicle accident,” Gannon told Morristown Green on Wednesday.

“Morristown Police were called to investigate the accident and were already arriving. After determining that there were not any injuries, and assuring Morristown Police Department’s presence at the scene, the Sheriff’s Officer departed. A second Sheriff’s Officer who subsequently arrived to assist pulled away prior to exiting his patrol car when he learned that no further assistance was needed,” Gannon said.

The police accident reports were under review, said town Public Safety Director Michael Corcoran Jr.

Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic Church, said Tuesday he observed a motorist clip a door flung open from an ICE SUV parked on Speedwell outside the Morristown Jewish Center.

Father Duberney said he believed that four to six individuals were detained in Tuesday’s sweep, one of several such federal enforcement actions in Morristown since January. Morristown Green has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for the names, charges and detention status of those arrested.

People attending Tuesday night’s town council meeting asked Morristown officials to investigate whether area law enforcement had violated the 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive, meant to foster immigrant trust of police. As a running mate with Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciatarelli last year, Gannon had pledged to roll back the directive if elected.

Outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy pocket-vetoed legislation to codify the directive. But in March, Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a package of immigration bills that included restricting state and local police from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a criminal warrant.