LONG BEACH, California — Ricardo Gonzalez, a former Long Beach city employee who told officials he is a US citizen, was injured during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in North Long Beach on Saturday, October 17, officials said, in reporting by CNN published October 20, 2026. CNN said it is working to verify Gonzalez's citizenship status; the city said he was lawfully hired and worked for Long Beach for about seven years, most recently as a gas field service representative for Long Beach Utilities.

Long Beach police said ICE personnel requested emergency assistance Saturday over vehicle vandalism and a person needing medical aid. When local officers arrived, they found a man handcuffed and bleeding while being detained by ICE, amid what police called a 'large group disturbance.' Mayor Rex Richardson told CNN Gonzalez had called 911, with other community members, over concerns about unmarked vehicles as the situation escalated: 'When the police arrived, we know that he was detained. He was on a curb. He was injured.' Police took Gonzalez to a nearby fire station, where his handcuffs were removed, and fire personnel took him to hospital, police said.

What happened before police arrived is disputed. Surveillance video obtained by KTLA shows an unmarked SUV driving the wrong way down a one-way street as a man on an e-bike turns into the intersection, CNN reported; the camera angle does not show whether the e-bike and SUV collided. Witness Sherman Austin told CNN he saw Gonzalez struck by the unmarked vehicle and afterwards agents 'tasered him, broke his arm and pinned him to the ground.' Video shared by Austin shows Gonzalez handcuffed on the ground, held by an agent in a 'Police ICE' vest, repeatedly yelling 'Help me, my arm is broken' and 'call a paramedic.' Gonzalez's daughter Leslie Gonzalez, in a verified GoFundMe for his medical bills, said he was injured while riding his e-bike. These are witness and family allegations; they have not been independently established.

ICE gave a different account in a statement on Tuesday, October 20. A spokesperson said ICE conducted a targeted operation on October 17 in Long Beach to arrest an at-large 'criminal illegal alien,' and that people attempted to impede agents, threaten officers and damage government vehicles despite lawful commands. 'ICE did NOT hit an individual on a bike. An individual was arrested after he smashed the mirror of a government vehicle. Resisting arrest is dangerous and can result in injury,' the spokesperson said, adding the man was transferred to local police custody and ICE is investigating potential charges over the vehicle damage. ICE did not answer CNN's question about whether Gonzalez is a US citizen, and described him as a 'rioter' rather than an 'illegal alien.'

Richardson, who said he was 'outraged,' has sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security calling for an independent investigation and asking that all federal agents involved be removed from enforcement duties pending that investigation, CNN reported. He said he tried to reach ICE through its complaint hotline but had not spoken with anyone there as of Monday afternoon. US Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, said on X: 'ICE agents brutally attacked and broke the arm of a North Long Beach resident and U.S. citizen,' calling the videos 'horrific' — that is the congressman's characterisation. The city said it is taking steps to support Gonzalez's family; Richardson declined to comment on his current condition, citing privacy.

Sources: CNN, 'US citizen injured during California ICE incident, officials say,' October 20, 2026 (via CNN Wire / Tampa Bay 28 and KION), citing Long Beach Police Department release (longbeach.gov), KTLA surveillance video, Mayor Rex Richardson, Rep. Robert Garcia and an ICE spokesperson statement of October 20, 2026; Long Beach Post reporting as summarised in local coverage of the Oct. 17 incident.