Security camera footage shows the moment an ICE agent purposefully hit a U.S. citizen with a car
Ricardo Gonzalez was subsequently tased and slammed to the ground by agents, sustaining a broken arm, according to his family. Now, Mayor Rex Richardson is demanding answers from DHS.
Security camera footage obtained by the Watchdog shows the moment an ICE agent uses his unmarked vehicle as a weapon to stop Ricardo Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, is seen riding an e-bike and turning left onto a one-way street. Then, an ICE vehicle can be seen speeding down the street in the wrong direction and striking Gonzalez.
The agent exits his vehicle and immediately draws a weapon before approaching Gonzalez and yelling for him to "get on the ground."
"Fuck you. You hit me with your fucking car," Gonzalez shouts back. "I'm a fucking U.S. citizen."
The incident, originally reported by the Watchdog Sunday, occurred on Ellis Street at Locust Avenue in North Long Beach at noon on Saturday, according to the video timestamp.
Gonzalez’s daughter Leslie on Monday told the Watchdog her dad is “doing well and still healing.”
“We can see him getting better slowly,” she said in a text message.
According to Leslie, after the agent hit her dad with the vehicle, they tased him twice. Video taken by Sherman Austin, founder of stopice.net, shows agents handcuffing Ricardo while he lays face down in the gutter yelling that his arm is broken.
Leslie organized the GoFundMe to raise money to cover the cost of Ricardo’s hospital bills as well as any legal expenses that may arise as a result of the incident. As of 12:30 Monday, the campaign had received $16,600 in donations, exceeding its initial goal of $6,500.
Gonzalez, 40, is a U.S. citizen born in Hanford, CA, Leslie told the Watchdog. For the past eight or so years, Gonzalez worked for the City of Long Beach — first in the health department and then the utilities department, a position he left in September, she said.
In a statement to the Watchdog Sunday, Mayor Rex Richardson said he was “outraged” by the incident.
“Federal immigration agents are not above the law,” Richardson wrote. “These aggressive enforcement tactics are creating fear and putting our residents at risk. This is unacceptable, and it must stop.”
Richardson said he is “demanding answers” from the Department of Homeland Security and working with congressional representatives to “seek transparency and accountability.”
In a post on X Sunday, Rep. Robert Garcia said the incident is “horrific and should concern not just our community but the whole country.”
“I’m proud of the neighbors who documented and stood up for the family being terrorized by ICE,” Garcia, the former mayor of Long Beach, wrote. “Donald Trump and his inhumane and illegal deportation machine must be stopped. Long Beach stands with our community and our immigrant families. ICE is not welcome in Long Beach. Abolish ICE.”
ICE agents brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and U.S. citizen. The videos are horrific and should concern not just our community but the country.
— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) October 18, 2026
I’m proud of the neighbors who documented and stood up for the family being terrorized by ICE.…
The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions from the Watchdog.
Numerous videos show LBPD vehicles blocking streets, with numerous people asking why the police department is assisting in a federal immigration operation, which is against city and state law.
The department released a statement clarifying its presence, saying ICE personnel “requested emergency assistance from LBPD and LBFD due to vehicle vandalism taking place and a subject in need of medical aid.”
According to the department, an officer located Gonzalez, handcuffed and bleeding. Fire department personnel were unable to reach the scene due to trash cans — placed there by residents to obstruct federal vehicles — blocking the street, so LBPD officers transported Ricardo to a nearby fire station, where they removed the handcuffs.
LBFD personnel then took Ricardo to a local hospital.
“LBPD left the area and some ICE agents followed LBPD personnel to a secure parking lot in the police station,” the department continued. “The ICE agents were subsequently directed to leave the station.”
The department said it made no arrests and added that, while it does not assist in immigration enforcement, it also “cannot legally obstruct or interfere with federal enforcement operations.”
Many residents do not accept the department’s explanation, saying that crowd control during federal immigration operations still constitutes assisting ICE.
“What the heck, [Long Beach]?” one commenter wrote. “Why are you collaborating with ICE terrorizing the neighborhoods?"
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