Residents rebuke Worcester City Council after chaotic ICE arrest

Local News

Worcester City Council moved to Zoom citing “public safety concerns,” which residents criticized in a rocky remote meeting Tuesday night.

Scores of Worcester residents rebuked their City Council Tuesday night over Zoom after officials closed City Hall to the public amid protests over the arrest of a local mother by federal immigration officials.

Community organizers and other residents criticized the council’s decision to move the meeting from the chamber to Zoom and slammed Worcester police’s actions during the detainment. Worcester City Manager Eric Batista’s office cited “public safety concerns” as the reason for the closure, and Mayor Joseph Petty said city employees had received threats of violence.

“What happened on Eureka Street was a crime, and police should have been called, but they should have been called to protect the woman who was being kidnapped,” said resident Karla Moore. “I’m here on the Common today outside City Hall, and I have to tell you, there’s no violence here. You have nothing to fear from these people. In fact, we want you to join us.”

Worcester, where census data shows a quarter of the 200,000 people are foreign-born, has seen multiple protests since Thursday’s arrests. Hundreds met for an “emergency protest” on the Worcester Common Sunday afternoon, and dozens were in front of Worcester City Hall Tuesday night despite the building being closed.

The council meeting began an hour late after the Finance Committee ran late and councilors took a break. David Webb, a progressive activist, used his Zoom account from outside City Hall for dozens of people to testify to the council during a two-hour public comment period, which councilors allowed.

“There are 30 people here who showed up to City Hall to speak tonight,” Webb said. “Would you please allow them to speak?”

Webb called for the body camera footage from the incident to be released “because that will show exactly what happened and who put hands on who.”

Councilor Etel Haxhiaj was at the scene of the ICE detainment last Thursday, saying in a statement at the time that she was there to protect her constituents. The Department of Homeland Security accused Haxhiaj of performing a “political stunt,” and the Worcester Police Patrol Officers’ Union accused her of assaulting Worcester police officers and federal agents.

Haxhiaj was present at the council meeting but did not comment on the incident.

The Zoom call was set up so viewers could only see who was speaking, meaning most councilors were not visible during public comment. The body voted to end the public comment period after two hours before hearing all of the speakers. Vice Chair Khrystian King and Councilors Luis Ojeda, Jenny Pacillo, and Haxhiaj voted to hear every speaker.

“People would just want to live here in Worcester and be safe, and they show up in masks. They divide this community,” Petty said after public comment, referring to ICE. “I think one of the calls earlier mentioned we got to work together as a community to fight this.”

What happened during controversial ICE arrest in Worcester?

Rosane Ferreria de Oliveira was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a chaotic scene on Eureka Street in Worcester May 8. Two people, including her 16-year-old daughter and a candidate for School Committee, were arrested by Worcester police, who are not legally allowed to aid ICE, Petty said at the meeting.

Residents participating in Tuesday’s council meeting, including School Committee candidate Ashley Spring, condemned Worcester police’s involvement in last week’s arrests. Spring, who allegedly threw an unknown liquid substance on and allegedly pushed multiple officers who were attempting to arrest the 16-year-old, is charged with assault and battery on a police officer with a dangerous weapon, referring to the unknown liquid.

She pleaded not guilty in court last week.

“I don’t get the luxury of sitting behind a desk in a computer when it’s time for me to speak up and I’m angry that you have chosen to do that,” Spring said on Zoom. “I’m ashamed of how you’ve chosen to handle this situation, and I know that you will not step back, but I want you to know that we will not step back either.”

Initially, DHS and Worcester police misidentified the woman detained as Ferreria de Oliveira, but a clerk at the Worcester District Court said case details against a Rosane Ferreria de Oliveira information from DHS. She was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a pregnant victim in February.

DOJ previously found that Worcester police committed civil rights violations

Many residents who spoke referred to the Department of Justice’s report on the Worcester police, which found that officers committed many civil rights violations, including sexually assaulting women and escalating minor incidents with force. Some residents denounced the lack of a civilian review board for the department during Tuesday’s meeting. When the report was released in December, Batista said he would present a proposal for a civilian review board.

Others decried changes to the city’s Human Rights Commission, which reviews police body camera policies, among other duties. Commission chair Ellen Shemitz won’t be reappointed, and Batista is appointing Jonathan Slavinskas, chaplain of the Worcester Police Department, as a member.

Shemitz told GBH News that Batista has hindered the commission’s work and refused to reappoint her and her vice chair.

King, using Zoom from the council chamber, said he was against the decision to close City Hall despite receiving multiple threats and racial slurs, he said. He called for all body camera footage to be released from Thursday’s arrests, a report on the incident, and for a “social worker clinical response” to ICE operations involving children and families.

“There are times when we need to stand up, and these are one of those moments in time,” King said. “We take that oath of office when we’re sworn in each and every year, Mr. Chairman, these intimidating acts were unjust, and we need oversight. I’ll once again call and support a civilian review board.”