A collision between federal agents’ vehicle and a civilian car in Oxnard led to a protest with at least one person being taken into custody Thursday.
Oxnard police said they received a call before 8 a.m. from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A federal official reported that one of the DHS vehicles had been rammed, and agents followed the car that was allegedly responsible for the crash, according to the Oxnard Police Department.
“ICE agents reported that they were pursuing a grey Nissan Frontier that had allegedly collided with a Jeep Grand Cherokee and had driven away,” Oxnard police said in a statement, adding that it’s not clear whether the crash was intentional or a hit-and-run.
When Oxnard police officers were requested to the area of 8th and A streets for crowd control, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the collision investigation.
While the probe was underway, some 80 protesters showed up, police said. At least one person was taken into custody by the DHS.
Oxnard police maintained that unlike what was said on social media, their officers did not “work with ICE.”
“The federal authorities asserted that the traffic collision was intentional, and because of that, it is under their jurisdiction. This means that this is a federal investigation, and not that of the Oxnard Police Department,” police said.
NBC Los Angeles reached out to the DHS to seek clarification on the crash.
A group of activists said they were planning to gather in front of the federal building in downtown LA Thursday evening in response to the collision and detainment of the gray truck’s driver.
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