ACLU Files Complaint Over ICE Agent Popping Tesla Tire in Hillsboro

The ACLU of Oregon has submitted a formal complaint to the Department of Homeland Security, alleging that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent damaged a vehicle during a confrontation in Hillsboro. The complaint includes video footage that shows the officer puncturing the tire of a Tesla after a short pursuit.

The incident took place just before 7 a.m. on Oct. 7. The couple, who are keeping their names private out of fear of retaliation, reported seeing a vehicle they believed to be an ICE unit in their Beaverton neighborhood. They followed the car at a distance into the parking lot of a Safeway in Hillsboro’s Tanasbourne Village. Cameras mounted in the couple’s car recorded the entire event.

According to the filing, the couple observed masked officers wearing vests labeled “ICE” meeting with two other cars in the lot. The agents shouted that they were ICE and blew whistles to alert shoppers. When the agents noticed the couple recording, they moved to engage them. Kelly Simon, the legal director for the ACLU of Oregon, stated that her clients were simply trying to leave. The video shows an agent running toward the departing car while pushing a shopping cart.

The car’s dashboard camera captures the vehicle being followed out of the parking lot. On Stucki Avenue, the lights of a pursuing vehicle turned on, and the car boxed the couple in. The footage shows an agent standing behind the Tesla and stabbing the tire multiple times until it popped. The agents then left the scene. The couple pulled over and called 911.

Simon described the experience as chilling for the couple, noting that many people fear a similar encounter after seeing news reports. She said the couple was never given specific instructions to stop but grew afraid and drove away. The Hillsboro Police Department confirmed receiving a report about the incident. City officials stated they were unable to contact ICE to establish the facts of the encounter.

The City of Hillsboro maintains a document listing reported ICE incidents, which now includes this event. The ACLU’s complaint argues that the use of force, including the damage to the vehicle, was part of the federal agents’ response to the couple’s presence in the parking lot.