8 people arrested at protest during ICE arrest in Brooklyn, NYPD says
Nine people were taken into custody Saturday night after an anti-ICE protest took place outside of the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, according to the NYPD.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to ABC News that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian national whom they claim was previously arrested for assault and criminal drug possession.
ABC News has not independently verified claims about Okeke’s alleged criminal history.
The DHS statement said that during the arrest, Okeke “weaponized his vehicle” in an alleged attempt to hit ICE officers and "became physically combative attempting to punch and elbow ICE officers." Okeke also “requested medical assistance” after the arrest, according to DHS, and was taken to the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for evaluation.
According to the NYPD, officers responded just before 10:30 p.m. to reports of "multiple disorderly groups" in the vicinity of the hospital.
"Upon arrival, officers observed numerous individuals acting in a disorderly manner, obstructing vehicular traffic, and blocking emergency entrances and exits" at the hospital, according to an NYPD statement to ABC News.
As ICE agents attempted to leave the hospital with Okeke, protestors outside of the hospital blocked the entrance and refused to disperse, the NYPD noted.
"One protestor began punching and eventually broke the ICE agent's rear window," the NYPD said.
After "repeated verbal warnings" to disperse, police took nine people into custody, eight of whom were arrested and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief, according to the NYPD. A ninth individual was issued a summons and released, the NYPD said.
One of the reckless endangerment arrests was for a person who allegedly threw garbage at a vehicle that was unrelated to the ICE operation, according to the NYPD.
Several ICE vehicles were damaged during the protest and an unspecified number of ICE officers were assaulted by the protestors, resulting in minor injuries to the officers, according to DHS.
"The NYPD does not conduct or participate in civil immigration enforcement," the NYPD said in its statement to ABC News, adding that it "had no prior awareness or coordination regarding the ICE operation that took place" Saturday night.
Okeke came to the United States in 2023 on a tourist visa and allegedly remained in the country beyond his Feb. 26, 2024, visa expiration, DHS said.
