John Henry Smith
For Connecticut Public Radio. I'm John Henry Smith. A rally in Hartford Thursday night meant to protest the shooting of a woman by I.C.E. agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, turned tense. A confrontation between some of the protesters and suspected federal immigration agents involved pepper spray and possibly an alleged hit and run. Connecticut Public's Daniela Doncel was there reporting on the scene, and she joins me now. Daniela, what happened last night?
Daniela Doncel
Well, me and my colleague, [CT Public Deputy Visuals Director] Mark Mirko, were there to cover the peaceful protest that was organized by several different organizations, and hundreds turned out. Several activists went up at the lectern that were there to speak, denouncing the killing of Renee Good and calling for people to unite against everything that's happened. But about halfway through the rally, one of the speakers, after having just spoken, grabbed the mic again and announced that I.C.E. was at the back of the building and was threatening people with pepper spray. That's when I rushed over to see what was going on.
John Henry Smith
How far away was that? How long did you have to run?
Daniela Doncel
About a block down. So, it was on the other street, and it was at the parking garage back there. People were actively blocking the exit of the parking garage, trying to stop in the car that was there. Mark Mirko, who[m] I was with, was there when it actually happened. So, he witnessed the pepper spray happen. He actually got some pepper spray on his camera lens and on his glasses. Then he showed me photos and footage of a masked individual spraying the crowd with that pepper spray.
John Henry Smith
What's your perspective on the mood of the scene?
Daniela Doncel
Chaotic. And, people were definitely outraged. There was a lot of just.. it was half people outraged, trying to garner more support to stop this vehicle. And then, there was a lot of people just asking for help, for medical help. There was so many people on the ground trying to pour water on the eyes of the victims that got pepper sprayed, asking for more help.. if people had more water or even milk.
John Henry Smith
Any idea about how many people were suffering from being pepper sprayed?
Daniela Doncel
From the people I saw, I saw at least three, maybe up to five people. But it was hard to get a good count. There was so much going on.
John Henry Smith
Do we have confirmation that this was Immigrations and Customs Enforcement trying to apprehend the person?
Daniela Doncel
So, we don't have confirmation from I.C.E. yet. We did reach out, and they did not immediately respond to comment or to verify, but that is what eyewitnesses and activists told us, that they were back there because they had heard that an I.C.E. vehicle, that they believed was an I.C.E. vehicle, was leaving the building and that they had a detainee in that vehicle. One of the people that I spoke with told me that they believed that they just wanted to stop the car to keep that individual in Connecticut. If that was the case, his name is Julio. I actually have sound from him of what he witnessed.
Pepper Spray Victim Julio
They were pepper spraying people that were trying to, like, give medical attention to people that had been pepper sprayed..people who, like, might have potentially been run over, and it was just like again, they have absolutely no regard for people's safety.
Daniela Doncel
While he was in the scene, when people were getting pepper sprayed, he himself actually got pepper sprayed. I will say we are not sharing his last name. He asked to not have his last name shared out of concerns of his personal safety, but his account is something.
John Henry Smith
So Daniella, what are authorities in Hartford saying?
Daniela Doncel
Hartford officials are launching an investigation into the events that unfolded. They are saying it appears to have been hit-and-run during the events. Mayor Arunan Arulampalam says a vehicle they strongly believe to have been driven by a federal employee made contact with a protester, knocking them to the ground. We don't know the identity of the individual, but Hartford officials say that individual declined medical attention. Hartford Police have not made any arrests. They say they are also investigating an incident of property destruction, referring to the window of the car that hit the individual. Harford Police also confirmed the officers on scene did not deploy any pepper spray. But, city officials say they have strong suspicions the person who did deploy the pepper spray was in some ways affiliated with the federal government. But again, this is all under investigation.
John Henry Smith
Daniela, I know you've covered other protests, both related to the I.C.E. situation and other things around the state of Connecticut. How did this compare to other protests you've covered?
Daniela Doncel
I've seen things break out in terms of fights [and] disagreements, but never something to the scale where something like pepper spray was used, and it definitely escalated things. People were frightened. People were outraged. And I think for me, it was just something that I never even expected. A lot of the times, protests are peaceful in Connecticut. And the one last night, for the most part, did remain peaceful, right? So even though a lot of people did go to the back of the building to see what was going on, the vast majority of people that were there for the original vigil and rally stayed at the front of the building to listen to the speakers that were there speaking and to show solidarity for what had happened.
John Henry Smith
So the vast majority did not go and pursue - correct? - this news that potentially someone was being taken? Correct?
Daniela Doncel
Yeah, but the crowd back there where the Pepper Spray incident happened, you know, the crowd did fluctuate in size. But like I said, the vast majority stayed at the front of the building.
John Henry Smith
Did you physically see anyone with uniforms, fatigues, something saying I.C.E., milling about, potentially with any kind of pepper spray in their hand?
Daniela Doncel
I did not see anybody with any kind of protective gear or marks of I.C.E. or labeling of that sort. Even the vehicles themselves did not have any markings on them. So, there was nothing that could confirm or even deny who these individuals were. And, the individuals that were pepper spraying and who were behind the gate of that parking garage were all masked. So, it was difficult to see who was there.
John Henry Smith
Describe the makeup of the crowd? Would you was it older? Younger? Diverse? What would you say?
Daniela Doncel
So, at the rally itself, it was very diverse. We had people as young as children that were there with parents, and people as old as older adults in wheelchairs. So there was definitely a vast array of people from all walks of life. And you know, one of those people was this woman that I spoke with, Amanda Alvarado. She was there with her son, and I actually did see her tearing up and crying during one of the speaker's speeches. While she was there, when the news broke out of what was happening behind the building with the pepper spray incident, she ran off to see what was going on. And, when we got there, she kind of gave me an insight as to how she was feeling.
Daniela Doncel
I just wanted to check in see how you're doing.
Amanda Alvarado
I'm good. My son is with his father, so as long as he's safe, I don't care what happens to me. If we don't fight back, if we don't make any noise, then we just go into the darkness and that's it. But at least when I'm out here and I see everybody fighting, it gives me a little bit of light and hope that maybe we are going to make it out of it, you know.
John Henry Smith
Eyewitness account there from the young lady you met, Amanda, in the crowd last night. Did you hear anything about plans for future protest action last night?
Daniela Doncel
Not last night, but we are getting several reports coming in of various different protests that are being organized. You know what happened last night and what happened specifically in Minneapolis happened on the heels of what happened in Venezuela? So we are hearing some activist groups organizing protests in response to both events happening both this weekend and through next week. So I don't know if this is going to be the last of what we're seeing.
