A senior manager for the San Francisco International Airport has been fired after bizarre reports that he showed up to a predominately Latino church in San Rafael dressed as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
The city and county aren’t saying exactly why Peter Acton was terminated -- only that he “has been released from employment by the city and county of San Francisco.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Acton was initially placed on leave for work-related misconduct, including possible misuse of a city vehicle. Witnesses from the church allege he showed up in a San Francisco city car on June 4 and began photographing and videotaping worshipers and their license plates, all while donning an official-looking ICE jacket.
It apparently took a while for San Rafael police to be alerted to the incident. The worshippers reported it to the office of Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman and a local organization that provides legal services to immigrants facing deportation. San Rafael police were notified about three days later.
Acton’s actions appear to be related to a prior noise complaint that he had made against the church, which is near his home. The jacket he was wearing is readily available for purchase online and authorities determined there was not enough evidence to charge him with impersonating a federal officer.
Read more about the incident and Acton’s firing here.