'they Smashed Into Me': Activist Says Video Shows Ice Rammed His Truck. Agents Claim The Opposite - Beritaja

Video footage that appears to show national migration agents utilizing their conveyance to ram into the motortruck of an migrant authorities activistic has sparked contention and nationalist outrage successful the metropolis of Oxnard, an cultivation municipality that has been the predominant target of migration raids.

At the halfway of the contention is simply a declare by national agents that the activistic was the aggressor, ramming into the agents’ vehicle.

The incident began soon earlier 8 a.m. Thursday erstwhile Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents notified the Oxnard Police Department that their conveyance had been rammed by a civilian’s conveyance adjacent the intersection of 8th and A streets, according to Sgt. Martin Cook.

“We responded, and ICE agents detained an individual, and a crowd started to gather,” Cook said. “We were location to support the bid and forestall immoderate type of altercation pinch ICE aliases immoderate different national agency.”

Cook said that national agencies took power of the investigation. He did not cognize if the personification arrested by agents requested a constabulary study and referred each questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees respective agencies including ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

VC Defensa, an migrant authorities group that has been documenting migration raids successful the region, said connected Instagram that 1 of its volunteers, whom the group identified arsenic Leo Martinez, had been arrested.

The group besides released video footage taken by eyewitnesses that they said showed that the allegation by national agents against Martinez was false.

“ICE intentionally struck Leo’s motortruck and blocked his exit while Leo was exercising his correct to observe ICE activity,” the group stated successful 1 of its Instagram posts.

The video starts pinch a Jeep Cherokee pinch tinted windows tailing a acheronian grey motortruck earlier ramming into the rider doorway connected the driver’s side. The driver of the motortruck past pulls into a ungraded lot, wherever the group says Martinez was arrested.

“This shameful escalation by ICE is thing much than an effort to intimidate those of conscience who are opinionated up against Trump’s battle connected immigrants,” the group said connected Instagram. “We will not beryllium deterred, and we will proceed to support our communities safe.”

The incident is the latest contention involving national migration agents that has not only sparked outrage among activists and residents but besides raised questions about immoderate of the claims agents antecedently person made.

Two months ago, national migration officers stopped Francisco Longoria successful San Bernardino. During the encounter, Longoria, who was successful his motortruck pinch his 18-year-old boy and 23-year-old son-in-law, said he feared for their information aft masked officers shattered his car window, past he drove disconnected and an serviceman fired several rounds astatine the truck.

Department of Homeland Security officials person said officers were injured during the brushwood erstwhile Longoria tried to “run them down,” prompting 1 serviceman to “discharge his firearm successful self-defense.”

Attorneys for Longoria conflict that their customer injured the officers aliases attempted to deed them and have called for an investigation of the shooting.

In June, Arturo Hermosillo was accused of ramming his van against a national agent’s vehicle erstwhile he was instructed by the agents to move his van backmost to make room for an ambulance for a female who had been injured during an migration sweep.

Hermosillo was reversing erstwhile he said a national supplier opinionated adjacent the conveyance pushed successful his broadside position mirror, blocking his view; Hermosillo subsequently bumped into a conveyance down him. Shortly after, agents pulled him retired of the van.

Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told The Times successful an email astatine the clip that a personification “rammed his conveyance into a rule enforcement vehicle” during the June 19 operation

“CBP Agents were besides assaulted during the cognition and verbally harassed,” she said.

Videos of that time did not seizure immoderate assaults; they showed residents yelling astatine agents.

The incident successful Oxnard mirrors a level of aggression by national agents seen connected the streets of Chicago.

A Chicago-area politician said ICE agents used excessive force erstwhile making arrests astatine a cemetery. A pastor who was protesting astatine a detention halfway was shot successful the caput pinch a capsicum ball. Troubled by the clashes betwixt agents and the public, one national judge is considering ordering agents to deterioration assemblage cameras.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a petition for remark from The Times. In a statement to CNN, however, DHS said that claims that agency is utilizing “harsher approaches” are “smearing” national agents who “put their lives connected the statement each time to enforce the law.”

In downtown Los Angeles connected Thursday, conscionable extracurricular of the Metropolitan Detention Center wherever a crowd had gathered pinch “Free Leo Now!” and “ICE retired of L.A.” signs, they listened to Martinez arsenic he thanked them for their support and their work.

“I knew I didn’ t do thing f— wrong; that’s why they released maine pinch pending charges,” he told the crowd. “That’s what they do pinch beautiful overmuch a batch of our volunteers origin we didn’t do s— wrong.

“They smashed into me,” he continued arsenic group clapped. “And past they tried to impeach maine of assaulting them, what benignant of bulls— is that?”