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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her representatives disputed the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the event and asked her her name."

The release indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "a person would notify her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Consequences and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, the journalist was kept in federal custody for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal options open to her to vindicate her rights and ensure government accountability for their actions," the release notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, restrained, and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.