US citizen injured during California ICE incident, officials say
By Julianna Bragg, Celina Tebor, Sarah Dewberry, CNN
Los Angeles (CNN) — A resident of Long Beach, California, was injured during an incident involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday, according to federal and local officials.
Ricardo Gonzalez, a former Long Beach city employee, was reportedly found by Long Beach police after he and other community members called 911 after becoming concerned about unmarked vehicles, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson told CNN on Sunday.
ICE personnel had requested emergency assistance from the Long Beach Police Department in response to vehicle vandalism and a person in need of medical aid, Long Beach police said in a statement Saturday.
When local officers arrived, they found a man handcuffed and bleeding while being detained by ICE, police said, adding a “large group disturbance” involving the agents was taking place.
“(Gonzalez) called 911 when he saw a circumstance escalating, and so he called and asked for assistance,” Richardson said. “When the police arrived, we know that he was detained. He was on a curb. He was injured.”
It’s not yet known what led up to the circumstances or what occurred before Gonzalez was detained.
A GoFundMe created by Gonzalez’s daughter, Leslie Gonzalez, said he was struck by an unmarked vehicle believed to be driven by federal agents while riding an e-bike.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, the city of Long Beach and Long Beach police for more information.
Videos shared by a witness showed Gonzalez handcuffed and lying on the ground while being held down by an agent wearing a “Police ICE” vest. In one video, the man can be heard yelling repeatedly, “Help me, my arm is broken” and “call a paramedic.”
Richardson, who said he was “outraged” over the incident, spoke with Gonzalez, who told him he is a US citizen, and his family following the incident. CNN is working to verify Gonzalez’s citizenship status.
US citizens have been caught up in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown, which has featured highly visible enforcement operations and aggressive tactics that have prompted nationwide protests, legal battles and political backlash.
Long Beach police officers took Gonzalez to a nearby fire station, where his handcuffs were removed, police said in the statement. Fire department personnel then transported him to a hospital for medical attention. Richardson declined to comment on Gonzalez’s current condition, citing his privacy.
Meanwhile, officers remained at the scene in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, the police statement said. When Long Beach police left the scene, some ICE agents followed officers to the station’s parking lot, where the federal agents were asked to leave and told they could contact the department to file a vandalism report.
US Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, said in a post on X: “ICE agents brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and U.S. citizen,” calling the videos “horrific.”
The GoFundMe was created to pay his medical bills, the website said. Leslie Gonzalez said her father is currently receiving treatment for his injuries.
“My Dad is one of the hardest working men out there,” she wrote on the GoFundMe. “Because of him I have a roof over my head and I have all the opportunities around me. Our family is everything because of him.”
Richardson said he attempted to contact ICE through its complaint hotline, but has yet to speak with someone at the agency.
What would have been a safe weekend in North Long Beach “turned into a violent incident with no transparency or accountability, and a lot more questions than answers,” Richardson told CNN.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Diego Mendoza contributed to this report.
