Tonina Lamanna and Jeffrey Baylor at Cincinnati Public Schools buildings

GRATIS — Officers from a police department under fire are speaking out.

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News Center 7’s Mike Campbell talks to the officers involved LIVE on News Center 7 at 11:00.

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As previously reported, Gratis Police Chief Tonina Lamanna and police officer Jeffrey Baylor drove over an hour to get from their department to the Cincinnati schools.

A spokesperson with the Cincinnati Public Schools said the officers visited three buildings on Wednesday, claiming that they were with ICE and needed to conduct welfare checks on students.

Lamanna and Baylor told News Center 7 that they didn’t misrepresent themselves.

Baylor said the chief asked him to pair up on Wednesday for backup in an officer safety role.

He said he didn’t know they would visit Cincinnati Public Schools or that he would be portrayed as immigration enforcement.

“She had all the talking, I stayed silent the whole day because again, that’s not my job,” Baylor said.

News Center 7 also got a hold of Lamanna for a brief conversation on this topic.

After being asked why she tried to check on children an hour and 15 minutes from Gratis, she said the information was “Provided by ICE and (she) only had 7 days to complete once they provided names and addresses.”

News Center 7 also asked her about the documents she had.

“I do have them all and will release (them) when advised I can,” Lamanna said.

As previously reported, this media outlet obtained the following statement from ICE about the incident:

“ICE does not target schools for enforcement actions. Yesterday, a local law enforcement partner attempted to verify school enrollment and conduct welfare checks on children who arrived unaccompanied across the border. To be crystal clear, this was not an ICE officer or an enforcement action.”

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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