GUEST OPINION
A social media video depicting an Alhambra police car parking their patrol vehicle between the two parties (Photo – Screenshot)
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a friend sent me a social media video. In it, the Alhambra Police Department used their vehicle to box in a woman who was exercising her First Amendment right as a citizen journalist to record and report what was happening around her.
By Melissa Michelson
The Alhambra Police Department should offer her a full apology for their behavior that day. As an Alhambra resident and community advocate, this could just as easily have happened to me.
The official Alhambra police narrative about the Monday morning stop claims that officers “responded to a call for service regarding a vehicle being followed by another vehicle that was running red lights and making illegal U-turns.” It is obvious that the federal agents being followed by the community member contacted the Alhambra Police Department to stop her from following and filming them. But if the driver had truly been violating the law, why wasn’t she ticketed or informed that this was the reason for the stop? Instead, officers told her she was pulled over because her hazard lights were on. Which story is it?
What was Ms. Angie Vargas doing wrong that merited the Alhambra police to use their car as a deterring weapon? Nothing.
The police statement continues: “Officers parked their vehicle in between both parties to help with de-escalating the situation.” Had that truly been their intention, they could have driven behind her and activated their lights. What protocol justified this maneuver instead? Was it really necessary for both officers to confront her simultaneously from the front windows of her vehicle?
If the Alhambra police were truly attempting to de-escalate the situation, why did they allow the masked federal agents to exit their vehicle and approach Ms. Vargas? Officers could have directed them to remain in their car to keep both parties separated. Instead, three masked agents were allowed to approach Ms. Vargas and interrogate her about her citizenship status.
Less than six months ago, the City of Alhambra approved a resolution that “condemns aggressive and non-transparent federal immigration enforcement tactics, reaffirms its commitment to constitutional and community safety principles, and directs proactive local response measures” (July 28, 2025, Agenda Item #4). The officers’ actions that day violated both that resolution and their oaths of office as municipal employees sworn to defend the Constitution, including the freedom of the press from government interference.
In the wake of ICE agent Jonathan Ross’ murder of community member Renee Good in Minnesota, watching our own Alhambra police run interference for federal agents, confronting a female driver who was trying to help her community and doing nothing wrong, inventing justifications that don’t align with the video evidence, violating the City of Alhambra’s stated commitments, and abetting masked federal agents known for their rogue street terrorism, does not inspire confidence that the Alhambra police has our backs.
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