Lawyers for the Nigerian immigrant whose weekend arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sparked protests in Bushwick have filed a petition in federal court challenging his arrest and detention.
The lawsuit filed on Chidozie Wilson Okeke's behalf alleges masked ICE agents “unlawfully, brutally and violently detained” him as he was entering his parked vehicle Saturday night. The suit, filed on Wednesday, accuses the federal officers of beating and "tasing" him.
After the arrest, federal agents transported Okeke, who is accused of overstaying a tourist visa, to nearby Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where hundreds of protesters massed outside and some later attempted to block an unmarked government vehicle with Okeke inside from leaving.
The petition asks a judge to order Okeke's immediate release, citing due process violations. Okeke is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The petition further asks that the federal government be barred from relocating Okeke. It alleges the ICE agents lacked probable cause and a proper warrant for the arrest.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement that the officers acted properly and denied that they beat or used a Taser on Okeke. The spokesperson said Okeke refused to comply with the officers’ demands to leave his car and “weaponized his vehicle” to try to hit the officers.
The spokesperson also alleged that Okeke tried to punch and elbow the officers. The statement said the officers responded with the minimum force necessary to make the arrest. The officers transported Okeke to the hospital after he requested medical treatment, the spokesperson said.
Okeke’s initial arrest and then the chaotic scene outside the hospital were captured on videos taken by bystanders and freelance photographers, and posted on social media.
Video of the street arrest, shared by the nonprofit New York Immigration Coalition, shows federal officers pulling a man later identified as Okeke out of the driver’s seat of a stopped vehicle. Later, video taken by freelance photographer Dakota Santiago shows federal officers dragging a prone Okeke out of the hospital and putting him in another vehicle.
An NYPD spokesperson said eight people were arrested during the Saturday night protest and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief. Another person was given a summons and released.
Other videos from the weekend events spurred criticism of the NYPD.
A widely seen video shared on social media by editor Patrick Hilsman of Turning Point Magazine showed an NYPD officer throwing a demonstrator to the street. At an unrelated press conference on Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the video was “incredibly disturbing” and that the officer’s actions are being investigated.
The NYPD also transferred police Capt. James Wilson after he was caught on video disparaging Mamdani, calling him “an embarrassment,” “total nonsense,” and “not my boss” while speaking with people in the crowd. During the exchange, he added: “All Democrats: a waste of human race.”
Department policy prohibits officers from publicly expressing personal views about a political party while they are on duty, an NYPD spokesperson said, adding that disciplinary proceedings for the officer are ongoing.
Video showing the NYPD clearing the roadway of debris and protesters and allowing ICE to transport Okeke away from the hospital also prompted concern from local lawmakers and immigration advocates, who questioned whether the officers’ violated the city's sanctuary laws prohibiting city resources from being used for immigration enforcement.
Mamdani said the NYPD did not coordinate with ICE in the agency's civil enforcement, and that police officers were instead responding to protests.
