40°
A video posted on Instagram begins with Niko Sanabria-John, 25, straddling a barricade shortly after 3 p.m.
An officer and then another grab his arm and try to pull Sanabria-John onto their side as a group grabs their fellow protestor and pull him back.
A struggle ensues, the Instagram video shows.
"He was told to come down off the barricade," Sheriff Anthony Cureton said. "He refused after numerous instructions."
******
ALSO SEE: Surveillance video shows a speeding sedan plowing into a group of demonstrators in Manhattan who were demanding the release of ICE detainees at the Bergen County Jail.
******
The arrest is the first since protests seeking the release of ICE detainees began at the county jail two weeks ago.
The first officer is seen helping a masked female protestor back over the barrier onto the sidewalk.
Meanwhile, other officers hop over the barricade and grab Sanabria-John, who struggles as they carry him over to their side and then goes limp.
Four officers lay Sanabria-John face down and hold him there as he's handcuffed and brought into the jail.
He was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction and resisting arrest, among other counts.
No other demonstrators were arrested and no injuries were reported.
The protestors who posted the video claimed the officers used racially-motivated unnecessary force.
DECIDE FOR YOURSELF: https://www.instagram.com/RASE.NJ
The arrest follows an attack on the sheriff's Englewood home, where vandals spray-painted “FREE THEM ALL.” and spattered red paint on the garage door. As sheriff, the former Bergen County NAACP president runs the jail.
SEE: Vandals Paint Graffiti At Home Of Bergen Sheriff Amid ICE Protests
Protestors with signs, drums and megaphones have rallied several times over the past week outside the jail in Hackensack, at times blocking traffic on River Street -- and even damaging property, according to law enforcement officials -- in support of what they are fasting detainees.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this week said that, at one point, from four to nine detainees at the jail had stopped eating food directly supplied by corrections officers. The ICE spokesman didn’t say for how long, however.
Cureton said he personally visited the detainees' dorm and "many inmates claiming to be on a hunger strike have actually been eating.
"They are medically evaluated daily and none are suffering from malnutrition," the sheriff said.
It wasn't clear whether their primary opposition was to conditions at the facility – which some say makes them susceptible to contracting the coronavirus -- or to ICE policies in general.
Both reasons have been cited by protestors, attorneys and groups who’ve called for the release of all ICE detainees from custody at the four facilities in the state that contract with the federal government to hold them. Three are publicly operated in Bergen, Essex and Hudson counties and a privately-run facility in Elizabeth.
Many have been arrested for other crimes and were ordered held under detainers filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement so that they can be brought before federal judges for deportation hearings.
The detainees say they should remain free while they await the hearings.
Cureton said he spoke with the detainees in their dorm this week to hear their complaints.
The sheriff said he also inspected the "combination sink/fountain/toilet apparatus" and reported that "the majority were fully operational."
"Cleanliness of the dorms is maintained by the detainees," Cureton said. "[T]hey are provided the necessary cleaning supplies to perform those duties."
Several detainees went on a hunger strike at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark earlier this year, demanding their release for what they called humanitarian reasons amid the first burst of COVID-19.
Since then, more than 40 hunger strikes have been reported at facilities throughout the country.
CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS
Click here to follow Daily Voice Newark and receive free news updates.
