St. Peter nurse sues federal government after viral arrest during ICE surge

A St. Peter nurse has sued the federal government, alleging agents pointed guns and knelt on her during a viral arrest in the southern Minnesota town at the height of last winter’s Operation Metro Surge . Jamie Martens, a 47-year-old nurse at St. Peter State Hospital, seeks $550,000 in damages as part of her lawsuit which argues that the government is liable for agents committing assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence during the Jan. 29 arrest captured on her dash camera . When agents knelt on her, they “significantly agitated” Martens’ existing back injuries and created a tear in one of her lower back discs, the suit alleges. Martens initiated the legal action in April when she filed what’s known as a tort claim against the government, a step other Minnesotans have taken over alleged excessive force and violent tactics by agents during the winter operation. Because the government did not issue a ruling on her claims in the six-month window after the tort claim, Martens can now pursue the lawsuit. Advertisement “Every part of this was just absolutely wrong,” Martens’ attorney Ian Bratlie said. “It keeps going back to that these officers just felt that they could do anything without any reprisals.” Martens was observing agents and their immigration operations from her car on Jan. 29 when her dash camera footage showed a red Mazda SUV zoom in front of her in St. Peter before blocking the lane. The agents then got out and pointed handguns at her. The masked men ordered Martens to “get out of the car.” She refused, and they pulled her from the vehicle while saying she was impeding their investigation. They then knelt on her hips, a few months after she had hip surgery, the lawsuit says. The injuries caused by the agents have forced Martens to seek additional treatment. After the agents confronted her, Martens’ husband arrived and filmed the arrest. The agents attempted to stop him from recording it.