ICE agents allegedly break California man’s arm during detention, his daughter says ‘he was tased twice’

Federal immigration agents allegedly broke the arm of Ricardo Gonzalez, a US citizen and former city employee, during a confrontation with protesters in Long Beach, according to The Guardian. Gonzalez was handcuffed and face down in a gutter as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers knelt on his back. City officials have since offered their own accounts of the incident.

Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat who represents Long Beach, posted about the case on X. He wrote, “ICE agents brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and US citizen,” and called for the abolition of ICE. Garcia also said the videos of the encounter were “horrific” and should concern people across the country. He praised neighbors who documented the incident and stood up for Gonzalez’s family.

Gonzalez’s daughter, Leslie, started an online fundraiser for his medical bills. She says an unmarked ICE vehicle knocked him off his e-bike. “He was tased twice, pinned to the ground, and taken to the hospital for serious injuries,” the fundraiser said. “What ICE did was not right.” The allegations echo a case in Texas where an ICE agent was accused of hitting a man with an SUV in a parking lot.

Police found Gonzalez handcuffed and bleeding

This is not the first time a US citizen has described a rough encounter with ICE agents. In this case, Mayor Rex Richardson said that Gonzalez had called emergency responders for help at one point. “When the police arrived, we know that he was detained. He was on a curb. He was injured,” Richardson said.

The Long Beach police department (LBPD) offers a wider view. Its statement says ICE personnel also called for emergency help. They cited “vehicle vandalism taking place and a subject in need of medical aid.” Officers arrived to find “a large group disturbance” involving the federal agents. The department added that ICE agents could contact the city’s communications center if they wanted to file a vandalism report.

“One officer located a handcuffed male adult, being detained by ICE, who was bleeding,” the statement said. Officers took him to a nearby fire station and removed the handcuffs. Fire department staff then took him to the hospital. LBPD said it played no part in immigration enforcement and made no arrests. ICE agents who followed officers into a secure parking lot “were subsequently directed to leave the station,” the statement added.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has not said why Gonzalez was detained. The department frequently portrays its agents’ actions as self-defense or as protecting public safety.