Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian national, was dragged out of a Brooklyn hospital and arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for overstaying his expired tourist visa on May 2, leading to hundreds of Bushwick residents filling the streets outside of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.
His arrest sparked a chaotic, five-hour standoff in which multiple officers were injured and nine residents were taken into custody.
According to The New York Times, the incident began when members of Hands Off NYC, an activist group that tracks ICE presence throughout the five boroughs, followed the masked federal agents to the hospital around 10:30 p.m.
Within the next hour, a crowd of 200 protesters gathered outside while Okeke was still inside, throwing garbage cans onto the street as the New York City Police Department arrived on the scene.
Councilmember Sandy Nurse stated the community response was quick and purposeful upon Okeke’s arrival, as the actions taken by both the NYPD and ICE was “a clear violation of our sanctuary city laws.”
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement on X defending the arrest, saying Okeke “refused to comply with officers lawful commands to exit the vehicle and weaponized his vehicle to attempt to hit ICE officers.”
The DHS also noted that Okeke became “physically combative, attempting to punch and elbow ICE officers,” and that agents used “the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest.”
The confrontation between the two groups reached its climax just after 2 a.m. when a video captured ICE agents dragging Okeke, who appeared to be a semi-conscious state, across the hospital’s entrance plaza through the crowd of protesters into a vehicle before leaving the scene.
“They were dragging a Black man in handcuffs on the floor,” a witness said. A NYPD spokesperson also stated that the agents seemed to have released pepper spray and “one sergeant and three officers were also injured from the substance and had to be treated at the hospital.”
NYPD officials claimed they were unaware and did not coordinate with ICE before the operation and only reacted to 911 calls about a protest occurring around hospital entrances. However, images and videos of the incident circulating online appear to show numerous accounts of cooperation between the two agencies, from standing together inside the hospital with the detainee, to escorting ICE vehicles away from the scene and even providing support in repairing a flat tire on the Williamsburg Bridge.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement shortly after, defending the NYPD’s presence and saying officers were simply responding to emergency calls. He emphasized that no prior coordination had taken place.
However, his defense was quickly undermined by footage that emerged from within the protest itself, calling into question the unity between the mayor and his department.
Videos from the incident show NYPD Captain James Wilson of Brooklyn’s 94th precinct referring to Mamdani as a “waste of the human race” and “expendable.” Wilson was subsequently demoted and transferred out of the 94th precinct on May 5, in response to
his comments.
During the altercation, nine were taken into custody, but eight were formally charged with reckless endangerment, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. The ninth individual was released on summons.
Following the incident, the New York Immigration Coalition demanded that city leadership hold NYPD officers accountable and make it clear that collusion with ICE will not be tolerated moving forward.
