Latest news with #WorcesterPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gunshot grazed head of 21-year-old in Worcester
The Worcester Police Department is investigating a shooting that resulted in a 21-year-old's head being grazed by bullets. The department received multiple calls at about 8:09 p.m. Tuesday of gunshots in the area of University Park by the intersection of Illinois Street and Gates Street. Witnesses reported hearing between 10 to 12 gunshots, a Worcester Police Department spokesperson said. A 21-year-old arrived at a nearby hospital with a graze wound to their head shortly after the shooting, according to the spokesperson. The wound is considered non-life-threatening. Police did not release the 21-year-old's name. Officers at the site found several shell casings. Two vehicles were also damaged by bullets in the shooting. The incident is currently under investigation. The Worcester Police Department is asking anyone with information to send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or message at Calls can also be made to the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at (508) 799-8651. Child dies after reportedly falling out of window in Central Mass. Here's which Mass. beaches are closed on Memorial Day Mass. weather: Slight chance of showers Monday afternoon, warm temps on Tuesday Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worcester councilor deposits large donation haul after confronting police at ICE raid
Three days after she confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arresting a Brazilian mother of three on Eureka Street, District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj recorded some of her best fundraising numbers for her re-election campaign. A deposit report recorded May 11, posted on the Office of Campaign and Political Finance of Massachusetts's website, finds that Haxhiaj's campaign deposited $3,691 in total donations — about three times what she had brought in the entire previous month. Donations ranged as low as $5 to as high as $250, the report reads. From April 1 to April 30, Haxhiaj only raised $1,161.00. Her best fundraising month in 2025 was February, when she raised $4,799.00. The nearly $4,000 in donations comes three days after she and other members of her district confronted ICE for their arrest of Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira as well as local Worcester police at the scene. Kevin Ksen, Haxhiaj's campaign manager, told MassLive he wasn't sure whether a majority of the donations were made before or after the events on Eureka Street. He told MassLive that the last time the campaign sent a fundraising email out was on May 7. On May 8, a Facebook post by Worcester resident Chrissi Bates expressing support for Haxhiaj received 13 shares. 'Thank you for your bravery & service during the Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in today, Etel!' Bates writes. Another Worcester resident, Yenni Desroches, posted a 'Donate To Haxhiaj' link on Facebook on May 11, encouraging others to donate to the councilor on Mother's Day. It's unclear how many people used the donation link shared by Desroches or Bates to donate to Haxhiaj. In body camera footage released by the Worcester Police Department on May 16, Haxhiaj can be seen yelling at ICE officers not to take Ferreira-De Oliveria, and telling them she had a right to be at the scene to help her constituents. Haxhiaj also confronted members of the Worcester Police Department who arrived at the scene and arrested Ferreira-De Oliveria's daughter and now disqualified school committee candidate, Ashley Spring. Officer Juan Vallejo, whose body camera footage and audio were released to the public by the department, was one of the officers responsible for arresting the daughter. In the footage, Haxhiaj walks up to Vallejo and tells him, 'she's my constituent!' 'People who are under arrest are under arrest,' Vallejo replied. 'She is not, she hasn't done anything,' Haxhiaj replied. 'Let her go, she's traumatized. Why are you holding her? Let her go.' 'Well, you can go to the station when she gets her bail, OK?' Vallejo said. 'She's done nothing, why are you arresting her?' Haxhiaj yelled back. Vallejo then grabs Haxhiaj's shoulders and arms to move her back, telling her to back away before turning her around. The councilor asked other officers, 'Are you threatening me?' 'Back away, get your hands off of us,' Vallejo told her before he stepped away, as another officer can be heard saying to Vallejo, 'Jesus, Juan.' The New England Police Benevolent Association Local 911 and the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 504 released two statements on May 9 and May 10, respectively, both blasting Haxhiaj for 'physically interfering and physically assaulting' Worcester police officers. 'We stand with our fellow Worcester Police Patrol Officers Union Local 911 and demand an ethics investigation into the egregious actions and behavior of Councilor Haxhiaj,' the letter from Local 504 reads. Jose Rivera, who is running against Haxhiaj in the November election, said he was disappointed with his opponent. 'In the video I heard the councilor say her job as a city councilor is to protect her constituent,' Rivera said in a statement on Facebook. 'That is not a city councilor's job. City councilors are not public safety officials and it is certainly not their job to interfere with an ICE arrest, whether they believe it was legal or not.' Supporters of Haxhiaj, however, said the councilor's actions were a display of leadership. 'Shoutout to Etel Haxhiaj who showed REAL leadership and bravery,' Lindiana Flores Semidei of Worcester wrote on Facebook, May 8. 'No family should be ripped apart like this.' City Councilor-at-Large and Council Vice Chair Khrystian King said in a statement on May 11 that even if people disagree with her response, Haxhiaj 'rose to the moment.' 'She acted urgently to defend a fellow mother, a woman in crisis, a young teen girl, and constituents she was elected to serve,' King wrote. 'In doing so, she stood up against a system that has too often trampled due process and constitutional rights—especially under the Trump administration. That's not grandstanding. That's moral leadership.' Worcester Diocese to close 2 churches, merge 3 parishes Worcester schools candidate arrested at ICE raid ruled ineligible to be on ballot Federal hiring freeze leads to closures at beloved Central Mass. park Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worcester councilor slams ICE protesters, says they should have helped children
A Worcester City Councilor asserts that people on Eureka Street who protested the May 8 arrest of a Brazilian mother made the situation worse, claiming they should have focused their efforts on helping the mother's daughters. Councilor-at-Large and Public Safety Committee Chair Kathleen Toomey released a statement on Monday addressing the recently released body camera footage from Worcester Police officers who were present during Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) arrest of Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira. People who protested the arrest 'crossed a line,' and were accused by authorities of obstructing and physically assaulting ICE agents and Worcester Police officers at the scene, Toomey said in her statement. She also claimed the protesters did little to help the mother's two daughters, 21-year-old Augusta Clara Moura and a teenager, both of whom were present during the arrest. 'The videos I saw reinforced for me that had the protesters stayed on the sidewalk and not interfered with federal officers, we would be in a very different space,' Toomey said. 'However, they exacerbated the situation, and instead of focusing their efforts [on] supporting the daughters of the woman apprehended, they crossed the line by obstructing and physically assaulting both ICE and WPD officers, which is unacceptable.' The body camera footage and audio were released on May 16 following pressure from the public, including a May 13 protest at city hall where protesters accused Worcester Police officers of assisting ICE in their arrest of Ferreira-De Oliveira. The footage and audio are taken from body cameras worn by officers Juan Vallejo, Patrick Hanlon and Shauna McGuirk. Along with releasing the footage and a recording of the 911 call from that day, City Manager Eric Batista issued an executive order to establish 'guidelines for local response and involvement in federal enforcement of immigration laws and operations, including investigations and civil detainments performed by ICE officers.' 'We are a nation of Laws,' Toomey wrote. 'We do not have the ability to choose which we follow and do not follow. As citizens, we are required to follow the laws. As elected officials, we have taken an oath to follow and uphold those Laws. If you do not like them, there are appropriate ways to protest and change them.' Two other city councilors have also released statements after the release of the body cam footage. In a statement released last week, District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson wrote that the Worcester Police Department did not aid ICE in detaining the mother. 'The footage released today confirms this: Worcester Police officers did not aid ICE in any detainment,' Carlson said. 'Instead, they responded with professionalism, compassion and restraint in a complex and challenging situation.' Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen, however, said in an Instagram post Sunday, they could not believe the city administration and the Worcester Police Department's recounting of the events on Eureka Street. They also demanded the release of all police incident reports. 'We will not stop holding WPD accountable,' Nguyen wrote. 'We must abolish ICE.' Shouts and screams were heard on the morning of May 8 as ICE agents arrested Ferreira-De Oliveira. Body camera footage from Officer Hanlon captured the ICE agents arresting the mother. In the footage, District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj is shown walking toward the officers and Ferreira-De Oliveira. Haxhiaj grabbed Ferreira-De Oliveira's arm and pleaded with the agents not to take her. Two of the ICE agents then proceeded to fling the councilor off Ferreira-De Oliveira. As the agents moved to a gold Ford SUV, Haxhiaj then reached out for Ferreira-De Oliveira. Hanlon grabs her hands to pull her back and tells her to stop. 'I cannot stop!' Haxhiaj yelled at the officer. Clara Moura, who is being held back by School Committee Candidate Ashley Spring, reaches out to the vehicle and says no multiple times. Hanlon responds by saying that ICE will offer an explanation. Haxhiaj and Spring yell that the agents will not explain, with Spring telling Hanlon that ICE does 'not have a judicial warrant.' At around two minutes and 25 seconds into the footage, an ICE officer says, 'We do not need a judicial warrant for this arrest.' In both Hanlon and McGuirk's footage, some residents can be seen standing right next to the hood of the SUV. At the two-minute, 20-second mark in McGuirk's footage, the officer approaches Haxhiaj, who is standing by the passenger side door of the vehicle. The councilor appears to be talking with someone about a warrant when McGuirk extends her hands out to her and touches her arm. Haxhiaj responds by telling McGuirk, 'Do not touch' me. At the 2:37 mark, Haxhiaj is still at the passenger's side of the vehicle, this time with Clara Moura. Agents and McGuirk tell both of them they need to move away from the vehicle. McGuirk then grabs Clara Moura's arm, telling her she needs to 'come on.' Clara Moura looks down at her arm and says, 'no, no, no, no.' The officer then lets go of her arm, and an agent warns Clara Moura and Haxhiaj that they both could be charged. Haxhiaj then says, 'I don't understand,' and tells McGuirk that she has the right to be there as the district's councilor. McGurik then pulls Haxhiaj away from the vehicle by her back, resulting in Haxhiaj's hands pushing against her body. 'Do not touch me!' Haxhiaj yells as she is pulled away from the SUV. At around the 3:54 mark, a man wearing a green shirt standing in front of the vehicle is pushed away by an ICE agent. During the ICE operation, the daughter and Spring were also arrested by Worcester Police officers. Body camera footage from Hanlon and Officer Juan Vallejo showed Ferreira-De Oliveira's 17-year-old daughter run up to the side of the SUV's front passenger door. Police later claimed she tried to kick the door, but it is difficult to confirm this due to the shakiness of the cameras and the large police presence. Vallejo and other officers surrounded the girl and moved her to the ground on the street. During the arrest, an officer yells, 'You're under arrest for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.' Police officers saw Spring push and shove other officers trying to arrest the daughter, according to a police report. 'Officers also observed Ashley directly point at and spray an unknown liquid in a bottle at officers that were on duty attempting to conduct their job,' the report read. It turns out, however, that the 'unknown' liquid was water. At the 2:30 mark in the video, Vallejo approaches Spring and points his finger at her, listing charges for another officer: 'Disorderly, disturbance, and she sprayed me in the face with water.' As he moves away from her, the audio catches Spring saying, 'It was water.' Spring was charged on May 9 with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon — that being the 'unknown liquid' — along with charges of assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct and interfering with police officers. Lt. Sean Murtha of the Worcester Police Department told MassLive on Saturday that he was not aware of the department dropping any of Spring's charges, despite police saying the liquid was water in the video. The daughter, meanwhile, was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to the Worcester Police Department. After her arrest, she was released from custody and is currently staying with family friends along with her 21-year-old sister, Augusta Clara Moura, Clara Moura's 3-month-old son and her other sister, who is also a minor. In a statement on May 16, Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier announced that the Worcester Police Department is requesting that the court dismiss the case against Ferreira-De Oliveira's daughter. Even though the department wishes to have the case against the daughter dismissed, Saucier noted, however, that 'it is important to emphasize that assaulting or interfering with law enforcement officers as they carry out their duties is never acceptable.' Ferreira-De Oliveira is currently being detained at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island, according to ICE's Online Detainee Locator System. Food hub to launch at Worcester's Union Station in June Late home run lifts Buffalo past Worcester Red Sox VIDEO: Worcester police knew 'unknown liquid' sprayed during ICE arrest was water Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Worcester releases body cam footage of woman's arrest by ICE agents
The city of Worcester released police body camera footage and audio files recorded by officers during the arrest of a Brazilian woman by federal agents, with the city manager issuing an executive order on how the Worcester Police Department (WPD) responds to federal arrests in the city. The footage and audio were uploaded online into a playlist on the city's YouTube channel on Friday. The first video plays five 911 calls made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents requesting police assistance and calls from people at the scene. The agents were in the process of detaining Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, 40, of Brazil, at Eureka Street on May 8. In the first video with the 911 call, an ICE agent told a dispatcher that 'we have a crowd surrounding an officer, and he's requesting immediate assistance... Can you send units, please?' The agent said around 25 people were surrounding the other agent. Another recording pleads for police to intervene in the ICE arrest, with the dispatcher telling the person that police were on their way. Among the calls was one from a person 'on behalf of' City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj of District 5. 'We need [Worcester Police Chief Paul] Saucier here now,' the person said. '...We need Chief Saucier. Get Chief Saucier, please... I need him here right now.' The other three videos show body camera footage taken by Worcester police officers Shauna McGuirk, Paul Hanlon and Juan Vallejo after they arrived at the scene. Each video is between 10 to over 25 minutes long, while the five recorded calls are almost six minutes altogether. Along with releasing the footage and 911 call from that day, City Manager Eric Batista issued an executive order to establish 'guidelines for local response and involvement in federal enforcement of immigration laws and operations including investigations and civil detainments performed by ICE officers,' according to a statement from Batista's office. 'Enforcement of immigration laws is within the jurisdiction of the federal government, not the municipality and as such, municipal resources shall not be used toward that end,' the city statement continued. 'The municipality and the WPD are committed to promoting safety in the community regardless of immigration status.' Worcester police are also requesting that the court dismiss the case against Ferreira-De Oliveira's 17-year-old daughter, who was arrested by officers on May 8, Saucier said in the same statement. To this request, Saucier said in the statement that 'it is important to emphasize that assaulting or interfering with law enforcement officers as they carry out their duties is never acceptable.' 'No person will be arrested or held by the WPD solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer, including extending the length of detention by any amount of time once an individual is released from local custody, or before being transferred to court or admitted to bail,' Batista's office said. In his statement, Batista said he recognizes 'the significant impact this incident has had on our community,' that it 'has created division and caused trauma to the individuals directly involved and to the greater community at large.' 'It is my hope that releasing all of the body-worn camera footage and establishing a clear policy on how municipal employees are to engage with ICE agents is the first step in repairing any unintentional harm and can help determine how, as a community and a municipality, we respond in these situations,' Batista said. 'I want to be undeniably clear that our police department will never target individuals based on their immigration status. The body-worn camera footage from the first responding officer will show that the target of ICE's operation was already detained by federal agents prior to WPD's arrival and that WPD did not assist ICE with the civil arrest.' He called the footage 'of a family being torn apart is disturbing to watch,' but the city cannot step in to prevent federal officials from detaining a suspect. Batista called on the community to come together and support each other, 'and not allow external forces to divide us. Worcester has always and will always be a welcoming and inclusive city.' Releasing the footage and audio is intended to ensure 'transparency and provide a clearer perspective of the incident,' Saucier said in the statement. Doing so is meant to 'illustrate the chaotic nature of the situation as experienced by the officers who had to make rapid, critical decisions in the moment to ensure the safety of everyone on the scene.' The day before Ferreira-De Oliveira was detained, ICE agents stopped her 21-year-old daughter's partner after he honked at a car, which 'turned out to be an undercover ICE car, and agents decided to arrest him,' according to the daughter, Augusta Clara Moura, 21, in the description of a GoFundMe campaign. ICE agents came to Clara Moura's home and told her to sign immigration papers and 'demanding I return my partner's car,' she wrote. Clara Moura, her baby and her 17-year-old sister left the house in a car and ICE agents stopped them and told her she was under arrest. Clara Moura called Ferreira-De Oliveira to pick up her baby when ICE agents turned to the mother and arrested her, Clara Moura wrote. Her 17-year-old sister, carrying the baby, stood in front of the car to stop it before she handed off the baby and tried to kick the passenger side door, Worcester police previously said. Officers pushed her to the ground and arrested her for reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, police said. Police also arrested Ashley Spring, who was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and interfering with police officers. Spring was released on her own personal recognizance and is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial hearing on June 23. Clara Moura's sister has since been released from custody and is now with family friends, along with Clara Moura, Clara Moura's baby and another sister who is also a child. Ferreira-De Oliveira, who comes from Brazil, is currently being detained at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, R.I., according to ICE's Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS). Worcester to release body camera footage of police response to ICE arrest ICE must show more integrity in deportation arrests (The Republican Editorials) Boston Puerto Rican restaurant opens second location in Worcester Read the original article on MassLive.
New York Post
10-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Mass. ICE arrest disrupted by unruly crowd —including woman trying to block cop car while holding newborn
A tense video emerged of a Massachusetts ICE arrest being disrupted by a crowd of about 25 people in what police are calling a 'chaotic incident.' Footage captured Thursday in Worcester shows a group of residents chanting 'don't take the mother!' and 'no warrant!' after a woman was led into an SUV by uniformed ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Advertisement Before the vehicle can pull away, other women are seen placing their hands on the front hood of an SUV and screaming in protest. At one point, a CBP agent and a bystander start shoving each other as he tried to move her away from the SUV. The vehicle eventually leaves the area after the Worcester Police Department arrived and declared an unlawful assembly, threatening arrest. 'I am disturbed to hear about today's events involving ICE. As someone who prides themselves on leading a welcoming city, I am devastated to hear about the separation of a family, especially with Mother's Day around the corner,' Joseph Petty, the city's Democratic mayor, wrote on X. Advertisement 'The fear of ICE tearing a family apart is the worst nightmare of so many in our city. I have asked the City Manager for a full report of the incident. We were not notified by ICE about the detainment. Simply put, we cannot have this happen in our community,' he added. 3 A new video emerged of an arrest made by ICE in Massachusetts, where a disrputed crowd of around 25 people gathered in what police are calling a 'chaotic incident.' @iwontstealthemooniswear_ via Storyful U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The Worcester Police Department said it responded to the area of Eureka Street around 11:13 a.m. 'for a report of a federal agent who was surrounded by a large group of about twenty-five people.' Advertisement 'We also received a call from someone saying that ICE officers were on scene and refusing to show a warrant to the crowd. Worcester Police officers responded to preserve the peace and prevent anyone from being injured,' the department said. However, when officers arrived, 'they observed a chaotic scene with several federal agents from various agencies attempting to take a female into custody,' according to the Worcester Police Department. 3 Before the vehicle drove away, multiple women were placing their hands on the front of the SUV. @iwontstealthemooniswear_ via Storyful 'Federal agents had placed this female under arrest and were attempting to leave in a vehicle. The crowd was unruly, and several people were putting their hands on federal agents and Worcester officers in an attempt to keep the vehicle and the arrestee from leaving. Worcester officers attempted to deescalate the situation and keep everyone safe,' police continued. Advertisement 'As the vehicle went to pull away, a juvenile female had a newborn baby in her arms and was standing in front of the car with the newborn. Officers told her that she was endangering the child and that she needed to move. Eventually she complied and gave the newborn to someone else,' police also said. 'As the vehicle moved away, she ran after the vehicle and kicked the passenger's side of it. It appeared that she was going to run in front of the moving vehicle, and officers took her into custody.' That woman has been charged with Reckless Endangerment of a Child, Disturbing the Peace, Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest, while the infant was unharmed. 3 A CBP agent and a bystander were also shoving each other before the SUV drove away from the scene. @iwontstealthemooniswear_ via Storyful Police said while they were taking her into custody, Ashley Spring, 38, of Worcester, 'pushed multiple officers' and 'threw an unknown liquid substance on them.' She was also arrested and has been charged with Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (unknown liquid), Disorderly Conduct, and Interfering with a Police Officer. The Worcester Police Department said the 'chaotic incident is still under investigation' and further charges may be forthcoming.
