ICE responds after Woodland police dispute initial account of collision with pedestrian

By Richard Ramos

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided a new statement Thursday regarding a collision involving an ICE vehicle and a pedestrian, after the Woodland Police Department disputed the agency’s initial account of the incident.

“This individual chose to directly impede a law enforcement action and stand in the middle of an active road. Our officers deliberately attempted to avoid making contact with this anti-ice protestor and drive around him, while also braking,” the updated statement from ICE said. “We strongly urge individuals to not stand in the middle of active roadways while a law enforcement vehicle is approaching.”

The collision occurred on Oct. 20 during an ICE operation in the area of Locust and Clover streets in Woodland. The pedestrian, Antonio Moreida, suffered minor injuries and was transported to the hospital according to police.

In a statement Wednesday, Woodland police said investigators reviewing footage of the incident determined Moreida did not jump onto the hood of the ICE vehicle or slide off it, contradicting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s initial description of what happened.

The department said the video shows the pedestrian was struck by a vehicle driven by an ICE agent. Investigators also determined the driver applied the brakes before the collision.

“We believe our community deserves accurate, factual information about this incident, particularly given the concerns it has raised,” the department said.

One of the various angles of footage of the incident was taken from a home Ring camera. CBS News Sacramento obtained and reviewed the footage, which corroborates what Woodland police said.

The police department’s statement marks a direct rebuttal to the initial statement made by DHS, which said Wednesday, “An agitator jumped onto the hood of an ICE vehicle and the officer driving applied the brakes. The agitator slid off the hood. ICE immediately contacted EMS and the Woodland Police Department. Flopping for the camera is dangerous, especially when it interferes with a federal law enforcement operation.”

Democratic U.S. House Rep. Mike Thompson, whose district includes Woodland, also sharply criticized the initial DHS statement as a lie.

“It’s just nonsense,” Thompson said. “You know it, and I know it. The local police know it. Our community knows it, and they’re not going to get away with lying to our community.”

Moreida also offered his own response to the DHS, saying its initial statement doesn’t describe what happened “whatsoever.”

“DHS definitely has a way of framing things to their benefit,” Moreida said.

Moreida, a volunteer with immigrant advocacy organization NorCal Resist, told CBS News Sacramento that he went to the neighborhood after hearing reports of an ICE operation, intending to document the activity and alert nearby residents.

He said he began recording people he believed were federal immigration officers and asked them to identify themselves.

CBS News Sacramento obtained footage recorded by Moreida that shows the front end of the vehicle striking him as he recorded in the street.

“I took the corner of the car to the chest,” Moreida told the station. “When I first hit the ground, I had the wind knocked out of me. That was my first reaction.”

Moreida said that while he was in the hospital, a family member took a photo they said shows an ICE vehicle parked outside his home across town from where the collision happened.

“Later, when he was fortunate to come home from the hospital, this car was across the street, staking out his house,” Woodland Mayor Tom Stallard said. “I mean, what does that sound like to you?”

Woodland police said it is conducting an active criminal investigation into the collision and would forward that investigation to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office once complete.