ICE Agent Points Gun Inches From Bystander’s Face During North Hollywood Arrest, Video Shows

A confrontation between federal immigration agents and a bystander in North Hollywood has sparked outrage after video appeared to show an officer pointing a handgun just inches from a man’s face during an arrest.

The incident unfolded around 8:30 a.m. on October 30 near Vineland Place and Otsego Street, where masked agents were detaining a man during an immigration enforcement operation.

Footage recorded by a nearby resident shows agents taking the man to the ground and handcuffing him. As they moved him toward an unmarked vehicle, one agent appeared to drop a canister of pepper spray.

A passerby walking two dogs then approached the object and tossed it into the street. Another agent rushed toward him, shoved him into nearby bushes and pointed a handgun at his face.

The bystander was not taken into custody. Video later appeared to show an agent approaching him with what witnesses identified as pepper spray, prompting the man to run away.

The Department of Homeland Security said the operation involved the arrest of Angel Luis Gonzalez Lobo, who allegedly had a final order of deportation and fled from his vehicle on foot.

In its account, the department said a bystander carrying pepper spray encountered the officers, creating what it described as a dangerous situation. Officials said the actions of those involved complicated an otherwise controlled arrest.

The bystander later told Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian that he had been trying to return items dropped by the man being detained. He said he believed the agent became concerned when he picked up the canister, then pointed a gun at him and pepper-sprayed him.

The video has raised questions about the agents’ handling of the encounter. Law enforcement experts who reviewed the footage told the Los Angeles Times that the agent may have had reason to react when the bystander reached for the canister, but questioned why the officer continued to point a gun at him after the object had been thrown away.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the incident unacceptable and said she was engaging the California Attorney General’s Office to investigate possible wrongdoing by federal agents. Local officials also called for greater accountability.

The arrest took place just one day after a federal judge issued an order restricting immigration agents in Southern California from stopping people based on racial stereotypes.

Authorities have not publicly identified the bystander, and the Department of Homeland Security had not provided a detailed response to questions about the agent’s conduct in the reports available.

The footage has left residents questioning how an immigration operation on an ordinary neighborhood street escalated into an armed confrontation with someone who was not the apparent target of the arrest.

Source: dailymail