ICE Agent Demands Papers from Off-Duty Black Police Officer — She’s a Lieutenant, Wins $9.9M Lawsuit!

The sun was beginning to dip on a warm Saturday afternoon in the city. The familiar hum of the day, filled with the clinks of gas station pumps and the soft murmur of conversations, suddenly transformed into a moment of high tension. Hannah Jordan, a 42-year-old off-duty police lieutenant, was simply pumping gas into her minibus at a local Shell station. She had just finished loading sports equipment into her car at the Riverside Athletic Complex, eager to get home to her family for game night. But what should have been an uneventful stop would soon turn into a confrontation that would shake the justice system.

As Jordan swiped her credit card and started filling her tank, she noticed a black SUV pull up behind her. Three agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) emerged from the vehicle and immediately surrounded her, their hands close to their weapons, their eyes scanning her with a look that said she was a threat. In an instant, Hannah’s day, and her career, were about to take a turn she could never have anticipated.

The Confrontation: Racial Profiling in Action

Agent Victor Hail, 38, had spent nine years with ICE, developing what he called an “instinct” for identifying undocumented immigrants. That instinct, however, was built on racial assumptions, and when Hail saw Jordan—a Black woman driving a newer minibus in an affluent area—something triggered in his mind. He saw her as out of place, a Black woman in a nice vehicle, in a well-to-do neighborhood, and that, to him, was enough to justify a stop.

As Jordan finished pumping her gas, Agent Hail approached her with the demanding question: “Can I see your proof of citizenship?” The question was loaded with racial assumptions that immediately placed Jordan in a position of suspicion without any valid legal cause.

Jordan remained composed, understanding the implications of what was happening. “What authority do you have to ask me that while I’m filling up my car?” she asked, her voice calm yet firm.

Hail’s response was simply to demand proof of her citizenship. “You don’t prove you’re a citizen right now? You’re going to be detained,” he said, clearly prepared to escalate the situation, though without any reasonable suspicion or legal grounding.

Jordan, who had served 11 years in law enforcement, wasn’t intimidated by his threats. She calmly showed him her Texas driver’s license and official police ID, asserting her rights. But that wasn’t enough for Hail. The agent, alongside his colleagues, Agent Lena Voss and Agent Ryan Caldwell, didn’t immediately accept the documents. Instead, they pretended to leave, only to deliberately turn off their body cameras and violently arrest her.

The Assault: A Violent Arrest and the Breaking of Trust

As the officers walked away, Jordan thought the situation had been resolved. But then, as she turned back to her car, the agents sprang into action. They deactivated their body cameras and turned back toward Jordan.

Without any further warning, they grabbed her arms and violently slammed her against the hood of her car. The physical force was overwhelming, and Jordan, despite her training, could not resist effectively. They called her racial slurs and told her that her badge meant nothing because she was Black.

The slurs were a deliberate attempt to humiliate her, to strip her of the authority her badge gave her. They shoved her into the back of the ICE SUV and drove her to a nearby detention facility, where she was stripped of her phone, her wallet, and all personal belongings, and locked in a cell for six hours.

The Discovery: A Family’s Fight for Justice

What the agents didn’t realize was that Jordan’s husband, Ethan, had been tracking her phone using a family location app—a tool he had set up after a colleague’s daughter had gone missing during a hiking trip. When he saw his wife’s location change to an ICE detention facility, he immediately called Jordan’s captain at the West Precinct. Within minutes, the department was alerted, and an investigation was set into motion.

Meanwhile, in the holding cell, Jordan sat quietly, her mind working through every violation she had just experienced. She understood her rights—she knew she was being detained without cause, without any reasonable suspicion, and without the correct procedures being followed. Her training had prepared her for countless situations, but this, this was different. The violation was personal, but it was also systemic.

The Lawsuit: Taking Down the System

The ordeal would not end there. Jordan, once released, immediately sought legal recourse. Her training, her experience in the department, and her law degree—earned in secret over the past five years—became the foundation for what would become a landmark lawsuit. Jordan filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, demanding not just damages, but accountability for the agents who had acted with racial bias and violated her constitutional rights.

She was seeking justice, and she wanted the world to see how deeply racial profiling was ingrained in law enforcement. The lawsuit sought $9.9 million in damages, making it clear that the federal government needed to address the systemic issues that led to her wrongful arrest.

The case quickly gained media attention, with the footage from the gas station going viral, showing the agents’ deliberate act of deactivating their cameras and arresting Jordan without justification. It wasn’t just a wrongful detention—it was an assault on her dignity, an assault on her profession, and an assault on the justice system itself.

The Result: A Win for Justice and Systemic Reform

Within months, the lawsuit led to a massive settlement of $9.9 million, the largest wrongful detention settlement in state history. The three ICE agents—Victor Hail, Lena Voss, and Ryan Caldwell—were terminated from their positions, and investigations into their previous complaints began. The department acknowledged that they had failed to act within the law, and reforms began to take shape.

Body camera policies were revised with automatic disciplinary action for any deliberate deactivation of cameras during enforcement actions. Additionally, new training programs on racial bias were introduced to prevent future violations. Independent audits of detention facilities were implemented to ensure compliance with constitutional rights.

The ripple effects of Jordan’s lawsuit were far-reaching, with several civil rights organizations filing formal complaints and the Department of Justice opening a broader investigation into ICE practices. The agents’ personnel files revealed a history of racial profiling, with 18 prior complaints that had been dismissed. The public response was swift, and the pressure on the system led to real, tangible change.

A Legacy of Advocacy and Reform

Jordan used the settlement funds to establish the Equity Defense Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing legal assistance to victims of racial profiling and unlawful detention. The foundation began providing pro-bono legal representation to individuals who had been unjustly detained by law enforcement, helping them secure settlements, expungements, and policy changes.

Jordan’s commitment to justice didn’t stop at the settlement. She transitioned from law enforcement to full-time civil rights law, using her law degree and lived experience to challenge the very systems that tried to erase her. Her story became a beacon of hope for those who had been wrongfully detained and a call to action for those advocating for police reform.

Her experience, once a personal trauma, became the foundation for systemic change. The reforms she inspired transformed how ICE operated, ensuring that racial profiling was no longer tolerated, that reasonable suspicion was required before any stop could be made, and that officers would face consequences for abusing their authority.

Conclusion: A Victory for All

Hannah Jordan’s story is one of resilience, justice, and the power of standing up against a system that seeks to dehumanize. Through her legal training and sheer determination, she not only fought for her own rights but for the rights of countless others who would have no voice if not for her. Her case highlights the ongoing battle against institutional racism, and her victory serves as a reminder that systemic change is possible when individuals refuse to stay silent and demand accountability.

As her foundation continues to grow, and as her work inspires the next generation of civil rights advocates, Jordan’s legacy is clear: justice is not just a matter of laws and policies—it’s a matter of courage, persistence, and the unwavering belief that the system can and must do better.