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Legal representatives representing a producer from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the incident as "something that should concern and frighten every person in this country".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene show the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a news release issued by lawyers acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team disputed the official version. They declared they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her lawyers say that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on a city street," the release adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began recording the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release says that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Consequences and Legal Action

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

"The individual has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal options open to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If armed, covered, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.