‘Help me!’ Video of ICE violently detaining man who says he’s U.S. citizen sparks outrage

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“Help me! Help me! My arm is f— broken, it f— hurts!” screams a Long Beach man as he is pinned, face down in a gutter, and handcuffed by ICE agents.

Videos of the detention, which took place Saturday in a residential area in north Long Beach, have sparked outrage over the tactics employed by federal immigration agents and the lack of answers from the Department of Homeland Security over the operation itself. DHS did not respond to The Times’ request for comment Monday.

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said he was outraged by the recordings and had spoken to the injured man, Ricardo Gonzalez, who is a former longtime city employee.

“Ricardo is a dad. He just wants his kids to feel safe. He shouldn’t have to worry about being injured, being hit by a car, whether he’s U.S. citizen or not,” said Richardson. “His kids should not have to see their parent detained.”

Gonzalez told Richardson that he is a U.S. citizen.

According to the mayor, Gonzalez had made a 911 call Saturday requesting de-escalation support from police after he saw a group of unmarked vehicles and a crowd gathering in his neighborhood. By the time officers arrived at the scene near Locust Avenue and Ellis Street, Gonzalez was on the ground screaming for medical assistance after being struck by a vehicle, Richardson said.

His daughter, Leslie Gonzalez, wrote that her father was shocked with a Taser twice and pinned to the ground before being taken to the hospital for serious injuries. The family has launched a GoFundMe to cover help cover his medical expenses.

“My Dad is one of the hardest working men out there,” Leslie Gonzalez wrote. “Because of him I have a roof over my head and I have all the opportunities around me. Our family is everything because of him. We ask for your support and prayers during this awful time. What ICE did was not right.”

She told The Times on Monday that the last few days had been a “difficult time” for her family and declined to answer further questions until her father was recovered and ready to speak.

Sherman Austin, a Long Beach resident who volunteers with the local rapid response network, a group that tracks ICE activity, had arrived in north Long Beach with several others after receiving alerts about agents’ presence in the area. He said he observed unmarked vehicles when one suddenly sped off.

He followed the vehicle, which he said blew through stop signs in the residential area, and that’s when he saw Ricardo Gonzalez. The man was on the ground, by another unmarked car, with his e-bike toppled.

“They just kept their knee in his back and put handcuffs on him while his arm was broken,” Austin said. “You could see the bone in his arm separating and they just sat there on him and didn’t explain anything to anyone.”

Neighbors came out and crowded around, arguing with ICE agents, who were detaining a woman. Bystanders began pleading with Long Beach police officers, who by then had arrived at the scene, to do something about the situation.

“They had just broken a man’s arm and they were trying to ride off with this other woman,” Austin said. “Everyone was understandably extremely angry and frustrated.”

The Long Beach Police Department said in a statement that it received request for assistance from DHS and ICE on Saturday “due to vehicle vandalism taking place and a subject in need of medical aid.”

Police officers transported Gonzalez to a nearby fire station, where they removed his handcuffs, enabling paramedics with the Long Beach Fire Department to transport him to a hospital for treatment. Officers remained at the scene to de-escalate the situation and direct a crowd of onlookers away from the area, police said.

Police told ICE agents that if they wanted to file a vandalism report, they could contact the city of Long Beach Communications Center and a Long Beach police officer would respond.

Richardson said he had many questions about the incident and that his office was filing a formal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security seeking answers and accountability.

The incident came amid a recent uptick in immigration enforcement in Southern California, which some immigration advocates say is aimed at discouraging voter turn out in the midterm elections.

“We need to understand why a use of force was necessary,” Richardson said. “A car hitting an individual, whether that was warranted. What are the circumstances surrounding the injury? Why didn’t the agents provide medical assistance?”

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) said Sunday in a statement on X that the videos of the encounter were horrifying and should concern the country.

“ICE agents brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and U.S. citizen,” he wrote, adding that he is “proud of the neighbors who documented and stood up for the family being terrorized by ICE.”

First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli re-shared Garcia’s post with a statement accusing the Congress member of encouraging people to obstruct the work of ICE agents.

“These incidents would be less common if the targets complied with lawful commands,” Essayli wrote. “You’re intentionally fanning the flames and increasing danger for the community and officers.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said there was no criminal case involving Gonzalez and referred all questions to the Department of Homeland Security. The spokesperson did not clarify whether Essayli was accusing Gonzalez of interfering with Saturday’s operation.

Richardson described Gonzalez as a member of the city family and said what should have been a safe Saturday in the community turned into a chaotic and deeply concerning one.

“You should not be able to drive around in our neighborhoods chasing people down and hitting them with your cars,” Richardon said. “That’s not OK in America.”

Gonzalez has worked for the city of Long Beach in several roles and graduated from Millikan High School, according to his LinkedIn page. He worked as a customer service representative for the city’s energy resources department, as well as in the department of environmental health and for the utilities department.

He describes himself as having years of experience in customer service and data entry, an open mind and the willingness to always lend a hand.

“I am open to new challenges in any industry and push myself hard to reach every goal set for myself,” Gonzalez wrote in his LinkedIn bio. “I’ve been knocked down many times and many doors have been closed on me, but I remain positive happy and great-full to be part of this great team I call family at the city of Long Beach.”

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Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered politics and education for the L.A. Daily News. She majored in political science and Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University.

Suhauna Hussain is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times.

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