Eight 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 borough of Brooklyn. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that ICE officers arrested Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian national, who they claimed they had previously arrested for assault and criminal drug possession, and had overstayed his visa.
A dramatic video shows ICE agents dragging him outside the hospital. “During his arrest, Okeke refused to comply with officers’ lawful commands to exit the vehicle, and he weaponized his vehicle to attempt to hit ICE officers. He became physically combative, attempting to punch and elbow ICE officers. Our officers followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest,” the ICE spokesperson said.
Brooklyn council member Sandy Nurse said community members noticed ICE’s presence at the medical center, and that she was at the scene from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.
“Word spread fast that the ICE had brought someone they detained to the ER to be treated for injuries related to their kidnapping. We did not have any information about the detained. After roughly five hours, the detainee was discharged,” she said.
Officers responded just before 10:30 p.m. to reports of “multiple disorderly groups” in the vicinity of the hospital.
The NYPD said it had no involvement in this operation, but said police were called when the crowd grew disorderly and blocked traffic.
Councilmember Nurse disagreed with the NYPD’s statement by saying on social media, “What I witnessed during the discharge appeared to be a direct coordination between ICE and the NYPD, with officers cordoning off the ambulance bay to allow ICE to move the individual into the vehicles and leave.”
As ICE agents attempted to leave the hospital with Okeke, protestors outside of the hospital blocked the entrance and refused to disperse.
Eight people were charged by police, with charges ranging from resisting arrest to obstructing governmental administration to criminal mischief. One person was also given a criminal court summons.
