Federal judges have found arrests involving the ICE supervisor WIRED places at Marble Hill unlawful
At least one ICE agent fired seven rounds into a car holding a 5-year-old in Marble Hill, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. WIRED names the supervisor on scene as Brenden Cuni and cites federal rulings that found arrests involving him unlawful.
The Product Desk
A 5-year-old boy was in a grey Honda with a 28-year-old man. Oscar Belgal, 28, was shot and taken to a hospital in stable condition. NYPD cameras did not capture the shooting, and federal agencies took over the investigation. Federal judges have found arrests involving Cuni unlawful.
- Who's exposed exposure 5-year-old boy Was inside the grey Honda with a 28-year-old man at the time of the shooting, Tisch said., claim 2
- Who's exposed exposure Oscar Belgal, 28 Shot; found handcuffed and seated on the ground, then taken by the NYPD to a hospital in stable condition., claim 11
- What it limits constraint NYPD Its cameras did not capture the shooting, Tisch said., claim 5
- Who has to decide decision Federal agencies Have taken over the investigation, Tisch said., claim 6
- What it sets up precedent Cuni Federal judges have found arrests involving him unlawful; one judge called an arrest warrant he signed fraudulent., claim 13
| Who | How | Kind | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-year-old boy | Was inside the grey Honda with a 28-year-old man at the time of the shooting, Tisch said. | exposure | 2 |
| Oscar Belgal, 28 | Shot; found handcuffed and seated on the ground, then taken by the NYPD to a hospital in stable condition. | exposure | 11 |
| NYPD | Its cameras did not capture the shooting, Tisch said. | constraint | 5 |
| Federal agencies | Have taken over the investigation, Tisch said. | decision | 6 |
| Cuni | Federal judges have found arrests involving him unlawful; one judge called an arrest warrant he signed fraudulent. | precedent | 13 |
What happened
- WIRED matched footage of a man in a yellow construction vest holding a modified AR-15-style rifle to Cuni, a National Fugitive Operations supervisor, using court documents, social posts and public personal information.
- A law enforcement source told WIRED that Cuni identified himself as an ICE agent to NYPD officers and was the only federal agent on video brandishing a weapon.
- According to WIRED, one judge called an arrest warrant Cuni signed fraudulent, another said video contradicts his sworn account, and in a third case the government withdrew his sworn statements as inaccurate.
- The NYPD identified the man who was shot as Oscar Belgal, 28; Tisch said officers found him handcuffed on the ground and took him to a hospital.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction DHS said its officers were seeking a criminal illegal alien and that this person was injured, but two law enforcement sources told CBS News that preliminary information indicated the man shot was not the target.
- What it limits constraint The NYPD cameras did not capture the shooting and federal agencies have taken over the investigation, so which agent fired depends on evidence held by the agencies whose officers were there.
- Who's exposed exposure WIRED's footage match is the link the rest depends on. A wrong match would attach a judicial record to a man who was not on the scene.
Next story · Invest · Oct 7
DHS proposes charging universities $70,000 for each foreign student entering OPTConfirmed6 publishers
NYPD officers who reached the scene near West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue on Thursday found men in mixed dress [12]. "When they arrived, they encountered several men in various forms of attire, including some in construction-style vests, face masks and at least one carrying a long gun," Commissioner Jessica Tisch said [9]. Mayor Zohran Mamdani put the neighbor's side of it: "Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street," he said [10].
WIRED built its identification from records. Cuni's own court declarations give his career: Border Patrol agent in San Diego in 2018, deportation officer in 2020, supervisory detention and deportation officer in December 2024, and the National Fugitive Operations team in May 2025 [16]. Before DHS, the trail is a 2018 Felician University baseball roster that lists his home town as New Rochelle [17]. WIRED says his earlier work history remains unclear [18].
DHS called the incident a "targeted enforcement operation" [3]. Tisch's account of the NYPD camera footage is more specific: a Honda backing into a space, one plainclothes federal officer at the driver's window with his gun drawn, a second at the headlight, and the car then moving forward out of view [4].
The court items in WIRED's file differ in weight. In Minneapolis last December, Cuni led a three-person team at a scene where 60 to 70 people had gathered, and federal prosecutors charged a protester with assaulting Cuni, alleging the man helped tackle him after Cuni pepper-sprayed him [14]. A judge dismissed the charge with prejudice, writing that the evidence was "weak" and that none of the federal officers who reviewed videos of the encounter "saw a 'tackle' or other kind of assault" [15].
The Bronx and Queens items are allegations. Lawyers for a 21-year-old Bronx man claim Cuni tripped him hard enough to break a tooth and then shocked him with a Taser about six times while he was handcuffed [23]. A medical record noted injuries "from taser by ICE agents" [24]. In Queens the following month, another man's petition says agents tackled him and shocked him three times. ICE's arrest report lists Cuni among the arresting officers and acknowledges a Taser, but the filings do not say who fired it [25]. Activists have alleged that Cuni was among the agents who forced a pregnant woman to the ground in Minneapolis, an identification WIRED could not independently confirm [26]. The Bronx arrest was in October, the Queens arrest the next month and the Minneapolis scene in December, three incidents in three consecutive months [19].
Tisch said at least one agent fired on Thursday [1]. The published accounts do not say which agent that was, and none includes a response from Cuni.
For anyone who has to brief a team on Monday, we think two questions sort the file: has a court or the government itself acted on the item, and does a record other than the accuser's say the same thing. A court ruling, such as the Minneapolis dismissal, can be stated flat with the court named. An allegation with a second record behind it, such as the Bronx suit and its medical note, goes in as an allegation with the plaintiff named.
The Queens item sits in between. ICE's arrest report puts Cuni among the arresting officers and confirms a Taser was used, so he can be placed at the arrest, but the shock cannot be assigned to him. An allegation with nothing behind it, such as the pregnant-woman identification, stays out of the briefing until a second record turns up.
What to watch
- Whether federal investigators or DHS release body camera footage, as Gov. Kathy Hochul asked, since NYPD cameras did not record the shooting.
- Whether DHS or Cuni responds to the court records WIRED cites, or any agency says which agent fired.
- Whether the Bronx and Queens filings settle who used the Taser, the one point the Queens papers leave open.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence64
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence66
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 10%
- Operator
- Operator 72%
- Investor
- Investor 18%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that, based on evidence collected at the scene, at least one ICE agent discharged seven rounds, striking the driver in the neck below his left ear.
- [2]
Tisch said preliminary information indicates a 28-year-old man was inside a grey Honda with a 5-year-old boy at the time of the shooting.
- [3]
DHS described the operation as a "targeted enforcement operation" in which officers were seeking a "criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic" with a prior conviction for grand larceny.
- [4]
Tisch said NYPD cameras captured a vehicle backing into a parking spot, one plainclothes federal officer approaching the driver's side window with his gun drawn and a second approaching by the driver's side headlight, after which the vehicle moves forward out of view of the camera.
- [5]
Tisch said the NYPD cameras did not capture the shooting.
- [6]
Tisch said federal agencies have taken over the investigation.
- [7]
Gov. Kathy Hochul said: "I also asked that any body camera footage of the shooting be released to the public so we can establish the facts and get to the truth."
- [8]
DHS said: "During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured."
- [9]
"When they arrived, they encountered several men in various forms of attire, including some in construction-style vests, face masks and at least one carrying a long gun," Tisch said of the NYPD officers who responded.
- [10]
"Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street," Mamdani said.
- [11]
The NYPD identified the man who was shot as Oscar Belgal, 28; Tisch said he was handcuffed and seated on the ground when found and was taken by the NYPD to a hospital in stable condition.
- [12]
The shooting occurred at about 4 p.m. local time on Thursday near West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue.
- [13]
Federal judges have repeatedly found arrests involving Cuni unlawful: one judge called an arrest warrant he signed "fraudulent," another said video evidence contradicts his sworn account of an arrest, and in a third case the government withdrew his sworn statements as inaccurate.
- [14]
Court records place Cuni in Minneapolis last December leading a three-person ICE team at a scene where 60 to 70 people had gathered; federal prosecutors charged a protester with assaulting Cuni, alleging the man had helped tackle him after Cuni pepper-sprayed him.
- [15]
A judge dismissed the Minneapolis assault charge with prejudice, writing that the evidence was "weak" and that none of the federal officers who reviewed videos of the encounter "saw a 'tackle' or other kind of assault."
- [16]
According to court declarations Cuni signed, he began his federal law enforcement career with Customs and Border Protection as a Border Patrol agent in San Diego in 2018, became a deportation officer in 2020, was promoted to supervisory detention and deportation officer in December 2024, and joined the National Fugitive Operations team in May 2025.
- [17]
Felician University, a private Catholic university in New Jersey, listed Cuni as a member of its 2018 baseball roster, and the site lists his home town as New Rochelle.
- [18]
Cuni's work history before his time with DHS remains unclear.
- [19]
The Bronx arrest (October), the Queens arrest (the following month) and the Minneapolis scene (December) fall in three consecutive months.
- [20]
Two law enforcement sources told CBS News that preliminary information indicated ICE agents were attempting to take someone into custody when another male, who was not the target of the arrest, was shot.
- [21]
WIRED, reviewing court documents, social media posts and publicly available personal information, identifies the man seen in footage in a high-visibility yellow construction vest brandishing a modified AR-15-style rifle as Brenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor with the agency's National Fugitive Operations team.
- [22]
A law enforcement source told WIRED that Cuni identified himself as an ICE agent to NYPD officers, and WIRED reports he was the only federal agent captured on video brandishing a weapon on scene.
- [23]
Lawyers for a 21-year-old Bronx man claim that during his arrest in October last year, Cuni tripped him hard enough to break a tooth, then shocked him with a Taser about six times while he was handcuffed on the ground.
- [24]
A medical record in the Bronx man's case noted injuries "from taser by ICE agents."
- [25]
The month after the Bronx arrest, another man alleged in a petition that ICE agents tackled and shocked him with a Taser three times during an arrest in Queens; ICE's arrest report lists Cuni among the arresting officers and acknowledges agents used a Taser, but the filings do not say who fired it.
- [26]
Activists alleged that Cuni was one of the agents seen in video of the Minneapolis encounter forcing to the ground a woman they say was pregnant; WIRED could not independently confirm that identification.
Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cbsnews.comMan shot by ICE agent in New York City's Marble Hill, authorities say
1 article · October 8, 2026
- nbcnews.comICE officer shoots man in New York City
1 article · October 8, 2026
- wired.comICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal Arrests
1 article · October 8, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Immigration Enforcement
- Police use of force
- Federal and New York City relations