WORCESTER, Mass. — Two people, a juvenile and a School Committee candidate, were arrested on Thursday after chaos erupted on a Worcester street when federal agents detained a Brazilian woman.
Community leaders are now calling for transparency and answers after the dramatic scene, which was caught on cell phone video.
Worcester Police said more charges could be coming at the local level as police review videos showing the crowd surrounding and, in some cases, assaulting law enforcement officers.
City leaders, during a press conference on Friday, blasted federal and local law enforcement for their response to the Worcester neighborhood.
In a statement Friday night, the Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union said its officers on Thursday responded to “a hostile and uncooperative crowd surrounding them.”
“Worcester police officers and federal agents were threatened, abused and even assaulted on scene,” the police union said. “Such conduct cannot be tolerated or condoned.”
“The Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union Local 911 will not stand silently in the face of such outrageous conduct or allow the safety of our officers to be put at risk by any individual,” the Patrolman’s Union said.
“These types of calls for assistance can be extremely dangerous and place officers at a high risk of injury due to the high emotions people feel at the time,” the police union said. “Our officers always strive to be as compassionate as we can daily.”
Some councilors are calling for enhanced oversight and civilian review boards. They say Thursday’s ICE detainment of the local woman is not only an attack on one family but all families in the Worcester community.
“The response yesterday from the federal government and the police department was completely unacceptable,” District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj said during a press conference on Friday.
District 4 Councilor Luis Ojeda said, “I want to make sure the Latino community knows I am here, we are here to support you.”
“I don’t have all the answers. I don’t. But I also know that all parties are impacted throughout this incident,” said City Council Vice Chairman and Councilor-at-large Khrystian King.
“Folks said we got to do better. We do. We will, and what comes to mind is, those officers that responded, they responded as trained,” King said.
“If we’re going to look for change, you have to look on what was expected of them when they arrived in numbers, what was expected of them when they showed up from their superiors, from their training, from their preparation,” King said. “We need to deescalate a young person who’s lost her family in real time, and we perhaps could have got there with a little more patience.”
Ashley Spring, 38, a Worcester School Committee candidate on the November ballot, was among those arrested following the incident.
Spring is accused of pushing multiple officers at the scene and throwing an unknown liquid substance on the officers. She is charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and interfering with a police officer.
A juvenile was also arrested. Neighbors said the teenager is the daughter of a Brazilian woman ICE agents were detaining.
The teen reportedly held a baby in front of a law enforcement vehicle as officers were detaining the woman and chaos unfolded at the scene.
The teen was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Her name was not released because she is a juvenile.
Boston 25 has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.
Worcester Police said officers responded to Eureka Terrace around 11:15 a.m. Thursday after learning of 25 people reportedly surrounding a federal agent.
Witnesses told Boston 25 News tensions grew after federal authorities intercepted a family in a BMW with a two-month-old baby in tow.
A crowd of neighbors, community leaders, and immigration activists went to the scene and tried to stop the family from being separated.
Then, things escalated.
Neighbors at the scene accused ICE agents of not having a warrant and wanted to know why they were taking the unidentified woman into custody.
“You can see, in one of the videos, her foot got stuck under the car, and a bunch of people tried to do a chain,” said neighbor Daniela Fraga. “It escalated and got worse and worse.”
The teenage daughter of the woman taken into federal custody appears to stand in front of the ICE van with the newborn baby in her arms.
Police said she eventually handed over the infant to someone else after officers told her she was endangering the child.
She then ran back toward the moving vehicle and kicked the passenger door.
Brian Webb, who went to the scene when he saw social media posts from the scene cropping up, told Boston 25 News that when things started getting out of hand, officers announced over loud speakers that the gathering was an unlawful assembly and that people in the crowd should disperse or face arrest.
He called the scene “heart wrenching.”
“There was a few different moments when like when you could, everyone present and anyone watching the footage could feel the despair,” Webb said. “I don’t know, they were horrified.”
“I had no idea what I could possibly do to change or affect anything going on out here,” said neighbor Lee Duerden. “This is happening across the country, so it is very concerning.”
A woman who identified herself as Spring’s roommate declined to comment at their Waconah Road home on Thursday night.
A statement from City Manager Eric Batista addressed the community turmoil following Thursday’s heated chain of events.
“The series of events was no doubt disturbing and the footage of a family being separated is harrowing,” said Batista. “Unfortunately, two individuals were arrested after several attempts by WPD officers to deescalate the chaotic situation, which included the endangerment of an infant. My heart goes out to all those impacted by today’s events and the growing tension we all feel due to the national political climate.”
Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty also addressed the incident on social media.
“I am disturbed to hear about today’s events involving ICE. As someone who prides themselves on leading a welcoming city, I am devastated to hear about the separation of a family, especially with Mother’s Day around the corner,” he said. “The fear of ICE tearing a family apart is the worst nightmare of so many in our city.”
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