Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier criticized New York City police over their response to a Marble Hill protest after an ICE agent shot and wounded Oscar Belgal.
Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican man, was sitting in a car with a five-year-old in the backseat when he was shot. The child was physically unharmed. Belgal was taken to a hospital and was reported to be in stable condition; ICE reportedly later took him into custody again.
A few hundred people, including Avila Chevalier, joined Thursday night’s demonstration calling for ICE to leave the neighborhood. Police erected barricades and clashed with protesters. Avila Chevalier said the NYPD’s conduct toward demonstrators conflicted with the intent, if not the wording, of city rules barring local police from assisting federal civil immigration enforcement.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers had not participated in the federal operation before the shooting and arrived to preserve evidence. Avila Chevalier also accused Tisch of unfairly portraying Belgal by mentioning his prior arrests.
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