Eight people were arrested after clashes between protesters and police outside a New York City hospital where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee was being treated. The demonstration took place at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on the night of May 2.
Footage shared on social media showed masked agents dragging the detainee, identified as Chidozie Wilson Okeke from Nigeria, out of the building and into a vehicle, surrounded by NYPD officers and angry protesters. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Okeke had become combative during his arrest, allegedly refusing to comply with officers' commands and using his vehicle to hit ICE agents before punching and elbowing them.
Okeke requested medical assistance after his arrest and was taken to the hospital, where he threw himself to the floor and screamed, according to the DHS. He was later cleared by medical staff. Local group that tracks ICE vehicles followed them to the hospital, said city councilwoman Sandy Nurse, who estimated around 200 protesters gathered at the facility, with some hurling garbage cans into the street.
Nurse accused the NYPD of “direct co-ordination” with ICE, but an NYPD spokesperson denied any communication or coordination, adding that four NYPD officers were injured by ICE agents using pepper spray. The NYPD said it responded to “multiple disorderly groups” at 10.25 pm, issuing verbal warnings to disperse. Eight people were arrested on charges including resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, obstructing government administration, and criminal mischief.
Nurse and human rights lawyer Alex Franco attempted to speak to the detainee in the emergency room but were barred by hospital staff, who said they needed to medically clear him first. Franco argued that denying access to counsel was unlawful, as ICE would take him away upon discharge. The DHS stated that Okeke had overstayed a tourist visa and had prior arrests for assault and criminal drug possession.
