Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia says masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke the arm of a US citizen during a detention attempt in Long Beach, California.
Ricardo Gonzalez, a former Long Beach city employee, was found handcuffed and bleeding when local authorities arrived at the scene on Saturday.
The incident occurred Saturday afternoon near Locust Avenue and Ellis Street in North Long Beach, where surveillance footage captured several masked federal agents confronting Gonzalez as he rode an electric bicycle.
In the footage, an unmarked vehicle appears to block Gonzalez’s path before several agents, some wearing vests marked “ICE,” exit the vehicle and approach him.
Gonzalez’s daughter, Leslie Gonzalez, said her father was “struck by an unmarked vehicle of federal agents while riding his E-Bike” and was subsequently tased twice and pinned to the ground.
Videos taken by bystanders appeared to show Gonzalez lying face down in a gutter while several ICE agents kneeled on his back during the confrontation.
In several videos, Gonzalez is heard yelling repeatedly, “Help me, my arm is broken,” and “Call a paramedic,” as neighboring residents shouted at the officers surrounding him.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson told CNN that Gonzalez had actually called 911 himself before the situation escalated, saying, “He called 911 when he saw a circumstance escalating, and so he called and asked for assistance.”
Long Beach police officers later took Gonzalez to a nearby fire station where his handcuffs were removed, before fire personnel transported him to a hospital for medical treatment.
Rep. Garcia, whose district includes Long Beach and parts of Orange County, wrote in a statement posted to X that “ICE agents brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and U.S. citizen.”
Garcia added that “the videos are horrific and should concern not just our community but the country,” calling on the federal government to halt what he described as an inhumane deportation operation.
Garcia also wrote, “Donald Trump and his inhumane and illegal deportation machine must be stopped. Long Beach stands with our community and our immigrant families. ICE is not welcome in Long Beach. Abolish ICE.”
Garcia separately said he was “proud of the neighbors who documented and stood up for the family being terrorized by ICE,” praising residents who rushed from their homes to intervene.
Mayor Richardson said he is outraged by the agents’ actions and is demanding answers directly from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the conduct of federal officers.
Long Beach police confirmed in a statement that officers arrived after receiving a request for emergency assistance from ICE officers due to “vehicle vandalism taking place and a subject in need of medical aid.”
