ICE Supervisor at Upper Manhattan Shooting Faces History of Alleged Misconduct and Illegal Arrests

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent present during a high-profile shooting in upper Manhattan on Thursday has a documented history of alleged unlawful arrests and excessive force, according to a WIRED investigation. On Thursday afternoon, federal agents in Manhattan’s Marble Hill neighborhood fired up to seven rounds into a vehicle containing Oscar Belgal and a five-year-old child, hospitalizing Belgal with a neck wound. Video footage from the scene identified the sole armed agent brandishing an AR-15-style rifle as Brenden Cuni, a supervisory deportation officer with ICE’s National Fugitive Operations team.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that agents were attempting to arrest an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic convicted of grand larceny. However, public records and court filings show Cuni has repeatedly faced legal challenges over alleged abuses. In one Bronx case, attorneys alleged Cuni broke a 21-year-old man's tooth, used a Taser on him six times while handcuffed, and uttered racial slurs. Another petition in Queens accused his team of tackling and stunning another individual with a Taser during an operation.

Federal judges have repeatedly ruled against operations led by Cuni, citing fabricated paperwork and false statements. In the Eastern District of New York, Judge Gary Brown declared an arrest warrant signed by Cuni unlawful, finding that Cuni falsely claimed database searches confirmed a suspect's undocumented status before retroactive records were created. Similarly, US District Judge Brian Cogan found doorbell footage contradicted Cuni’s sworn narrative regarding a warrantless street detention, while government prosecutors had to withdraw his statements in another proceeding.

Cuni, who joined Customs and Border Protection in 2018 before transferring to ICE and earning a promotion to supervisor in late 2024, has drawn heightened scrutiny amid federal enforcement surges across New York and Minneapolis. The Marble Hill shooting has triggered local outrage, as municipal officials and civil rights attorneys demand broader accountability regarding armed federal operations conducted in densely populated civilian areas.