Rep. Robert Garcia said masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke Ricardo Gonzalez’s arm during a detention attempt in Long Beach on Saturday. The case has become a sharp example of ice detainment for U.S. citizens in California because Gonzalez is a U.S. citizen and was later taken to a hospital after the encounter.
Videos of the confrontation showed Gonzalez on the ground, handcuffed and bleeding, while several ICE agents kneeled on his back. In the footage, he yelled, “Help me, my arm is broken,” and “Call a paramedic.”
Ricardo Gonzalez in Long Beach
Gonzalez’s daughter, Leslie Gonzalez, said her father was struck by an unmarked vehicle of federal agents while riding his E-Bike. She said he was tased twice and pinned to the ground, adding details that match the videos showing him face down while agents held him down.
Long Beach police said officers arrived after ICE officers requested emergency assistance because of vehicle vandalism and a subject in need of medical aid. Police said they found a large group disturbance involving the ICE agents and a man in handcuffs who was bleeding.
Long Beach Police Department response
First responders from the Long Beach Fire Department took Gonzalez to a nearby fire station, where his handcuffs were removed before he was taken to a hospital. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said Gonzalez was on a curb and injured when police arrived, and that he was one of several community members who called 911 as the situation escalated.
Richardson also said, “ICE doesn’t belong in our city and this activity undermines community safety and public trust.” Garcia wrote on X that ICE agents “brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and U.S. citizen.”
The incident adds to scrutiny over ICE use of force after an ICE agent was placed on leave earlier this month after striking an undocumented immigrant with his vehicle in Houston. In this case, the public record points to a dispute between police descriptions of an emergency call and videos showing a forceful detention that left Gonzalez injured and headed for medical care.
