Authorities launched an investigation after the chaos that erupted Saturday night outside a hospital in Brooklyn, when masked ICE agents took a man there after arresting him in an apparent immigration enforcement operation.
News of the arrest and hospitalization spread quickly, mobilizing dozens of protesters outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday. Several protesters and New York City Police (NYPD) officers were injured after, according to a law enforcement source, an ICE agent sprayed pepper spray into the crowd during the protest.
At the same time, the NYPD is facing questions for its involvement in the incident, after a photograph circulated online showing a hooded ICE agent standing next to an NYPD officer with a man detained inside the hospital.
Witnesses and sources indicated that it all started around 9:43 pm on May 2 at the Bushwick hospital. Patients were surprised to see a man handcuffed inside the medical center, guarded by armed and hooded men, and images of the arrested man began to circulate on social networks.
ICE agents are believed to have detained the individual in a previous immigration operation and then transported him to receive medical care. Sources assured that no patient was detained inside the hospital.
What was the role of the NYPD in the ICE operation in Brooklyn?
When the detainee’s hospitalization became known, more than a hundred people gathered outside the hospital demanding answers. Shortly before 10:30 p.m., the NYPD arrived at the scene and, according to witnesses, officers acted forcefully against the crowd.
“More than two dozen NYPD officers arrived with a display of force and, in an unprovoked act of aggression against community defenders, pushed people to the sidewalk, pepper sprayed several protesters, and arrested one person,” someone with direct knowledge of the incident told our sister publication, amNewYork.
The NYPD rejected that version. The department stated that upon arrival, officers observed people “acting in a disorderly manner” and “obstructing vehicular traffic,” in addition to blocking emergency entrances and exits to the hospital.
Those who were at the scene stated that a tense confrontation took place for several hours between the police and the improvised protesters, which lasted until dawn.
State Senator Julia Salazar gave her opinion on social network X and described the number of officers deployed as “worrying.”
“ICE appears to have significantly increased its presence in Bushwick recently. If you see ICE, please call or text the Hands Off NYC hotline: 229-304-8720. It is also concerning that such a number of NYPD officers were deployed to what was clearly a justified gathering of local residents,” Salazar wrote.
Shortly after 2 a.m. on May 3, two ICE agents dragged a handcuffed man across the pavement in the entrance plaza of Wyckoff Hospital, near the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Stockholm Street. They also carried a large container that appeared to contain pepper spray.
“He came out pointing it at everyone,” a witness told amNewYork, referring to one of the ICE agents. “They were dragging a black man in handcuffs across the ground.”
Protesters tried to block their path, prompting police to immediately push them away. Several confrontations occurred, resulting in nine arrests, according to police. Meanwhile, ICE agents loaded the detainee into the back of an SUV, which then sped through the crowd, knocking down one person.
An NYPD spokesperson told amNewYork that they believe the feds released the pepper spray. He added that a sergeant and three officers were also affected by the substance and received medical attention at the hospital. The spokesperson said that the police did not collaborate with immigration agents or receive prior notice of their activity, and that they only responded to the protest after receiving multiple 911 calls about a large group blocking the entrances to the building. This in the context of New York’s sanctuary city laws, which limit collaboration with ICE except in serious criminal cases.
However, witnesses offered a different version. They claimed that NYPD officers assisted ICE inside the hospital and later provided them with a hydraulic jack to change a flat tire.
Shortly after, a protester said he saw NYPD officers helping ICE agents change the tire on the Williamsburg Bridge. A police source refuted that claim and explained that officers responded to a 911 call about a disabled vehicle. Officers from Precinct 7 responded and helped remove the ICE SUV to avoid blocking traffic.
“This was the NYPD fully coordinating with ICE and facilitating the kidnapping of a community member through violent attacks against concerned defenders,” one person said.
“So much for being a sanctuary city,” user Alison Klemp/Fridson posted on X, along with videos of the officers and tagging Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
amNewYork has requested comment from the mayor’s office and is awaiting a response.
