Federal immigration agents broke the arm of a US citizen in what a Democratic congressman said was a “brutal attack” during a confrontation with protesters in California.
Video of Saturday’s encounter in Long Beach shows Ricardo Gonzalez, identified as a former city employee, handcuffed and face down in a gutter, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers kneeling on his back.
Rex Richardson, Long Beach’s mayor, told CNN on Sunday that Gonzalez had called emergency responders for help at one point. In an online fundraiser for his medical expenses, Gonzalez’s daughter, Leslie, said he was knocked off his e-bike by an unmarked ICE vehicle.
“He was tased twice, pinned to the ground, and taken to the hospital for serious injuries,” Leslie’s fundraiser said. “What ICE did was not right.”
Richardson said: “When the police arrived, we know that he was detained. He was on a curb. He was injured.”
The episode centering on Gonzalez is the latest in a number of recent violent and sometimes deadly encounters involving federal officers conducting enforcement actions as part of Donald trump’s immigration crackdown.
The homeland security department, which oversees ICE, has not commented publicly on why Gonzalez was detained. But it frequently portrays its agents’ actions as self-defense or protecting public safety.
The Guardian has contacted ICE for comment.
Congressman Robert Garcia, a Democrat who represents Long Beach, posted on X that he was disturbed by the encounter and called for the abolition of ICE.
“ICE agents brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and US citizen,” he wrote.
“The videos are horrific and should concern not just our community but the country. I’m proud of the neighbors who documented and stood up for the family being terrorized by ICE.
“Donald Trump and his inhumane and illegal deportation machine must be stopped. Long Beach stands with our community and our immigrant families.”
In a statement, the Long Beach police department (LBPD) said ICE personnel also called for emergency assistance “due to vehicle vandalism taking place and a subject in need of medical aid”. The LBPD statement also said officers arrived to find “a large group disturbance” taking place involving the federal agents.
“One officer located a handcuffed male adult, being detained by ICE, who was bleeding,” the statement said. “Officers transported the handcuffed injured man to a nearby fire station. There, LBPD personnel removed the handcuffs and LBFD personnel transported the man to the hospital for medical attention.”
The LBPD said it was not involved in any immigration enforcement action and made no arrests. It said ICE agents who followed officers into a secure parking lot “were subsequently directed to leave the station”.
“They were later advised that if they wanted to file a vandalism report, they could contact the City of Long Beach Communications Center,” the LBPD statement added.
The Gonzalez case in Long Beach has parallels with an incident in Texas on 10 October in which an ICE agent driving an unmarked SUV ran over a man and broke his leg in three places.
Harris county, Texas, district attorney Sean Teare said he was considering bringing felony assault charges against the immigration officer after video appeared to show the vehicle swerving into the man in a parking lot in the Houston area.
At a news conference on Friday, Houston-based advocacy group FIEL accused ICE of crashing into that man while searching for another who had died years earlier. A FIEL official told the Associated Press it had turned over to Teare a death certificate for the man the group says ICE was apparently looking for.
ICE on Friday did not respond to AP’s questions about the matter.
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