A North Hollywood bystander who found himself staring down the barrel of a masked ICE agent’s gun on Friday says he was trying to be helpful before the agent shoved him into a bush and aimed the weapon at his head.
The episode occurred as the agents were detaining another man, who screamed repeatedly as he was being dragged by his arms and legs toward a vehicle.
Later, the bystander gave an interview to Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who posted it on Instagram.
The bystander, who was walking two dogs, said he noticed an ICE agent running after a man and pushing him to the ground. The bystander, who was not named in the interview, said he hollered out for witnesses. He later said he wanted to draw attention to the encounter to ensure the man being detained was treated humanely.
“More eyes is better,” he said.
He paused to pick up some things that appeared to have been dropped in the struggle. Within seconds, an agent moved in on him, with the agent’s gun inches away from his face.
“I know that was a little fight for them and him, and he dropped some things and I was trying to help him pick them up and trying to return them back to him,” the bystander recounted in the interview, “and I think the cop felt threatened by that and he pulled out his gun on me and then pepper-sprayed me.”
Neighbors were upset with what they saw.
“It was a no-questions-asked thing. They just came up on him, and it was a tussle in the bushes,” Damari Butler, who shot the video, said on ABC7.
“The guy with the dogs, he stepped in a little bit. The ICE Agent pulled out a gun, backed him up in the bushes with the gun to his face, which was insane,” Butler said. “At that point, I’m going to be honest with you, I thought that was the end for him.”
After the encounter, the bystander was not detained by the agents, and he was able to leave.
The scene played out by the Ivy Apartments on Vineland Place and Otsego Street.
The family of the man detained identified him as 27-year-old Angel Luis Gonzalez Lobo from Venezuela, ABC7 reported. His brother said he did not know why he was arrested.
“It just felt very chaotic. It didn’t feel like anybody actually knew what they were doing on that side. It just felt like, ‘If we need to use excessive force to get what we need — do it,’ ” Butler told the TV station.
Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement about the incident: “This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in L.A. I’m engaging the Attorney General’s Office to investigate and prosecute any wrongdoing by these federal agents. Additionally, I referred this matter to the Office of U.S. Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat leading oversight on federal immigration enforcement abuses.
“We beat Trump and ICE in court, and new state laws have implemented accountability measures for ICE agents to protect our communities,” she said.
Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman wrote on social media: “I am outraged by reports of violent ICE kidnappings in North Hollywood. L.A. is not a playground for the Trump regime’s inhumane operations, and Angelenos should not have to live in fear of going to work, taking their kids to school, or living their life.”
Nazarian was also critical of the ICE agents’ behavior.
“No one should be threatened for looking out for their community. ICE agents do not belong in our city,” he wrote in a text block accompanying his video. “Education, awareness, and knowing your rights are essential, and every person deserves dignity, fair treatment, and due process.”
The bystander encouraged others witnessing immigration enforcement operations to document what they see.
“Record everything,” he said. “That’s your right. That’s the point — that’s supposed to keep you safe, and that’s also gonna keep the other person safe.”