Worcester police charged a woman they arrested during a chaotic demonstration following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, after saying she sprayed them with an “unknown liquid.”
But body camera video released by the department shows that they already knew it was just water.
On May 8, Worcester School Committee candidate Ashley R. Spring was arrested by Worcester Police Officers on Eureka Street while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a 40-year-old Brazilian mother of three at the same location.
She was charged on May 9 with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon — the “unknown liquid” — along with charges of assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct and interfering with police officers.
Lt. Sean Murtha of the WPD told MassLive on Saturday he is not aware of the department dropping any of Spring’s charges despite police saying the liquid was water in the video.
The street had erupted into chaos that morning as more than 30 people, including Spring, confronted, yelled and demanded to see a warrant for the arrest of Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira.
Worcester Police Officers were also at the scene, and they arrested Spring along with Ferreira-De Oliveira‘s daughter.
Worcester officials released the body camera footage from the incident following pressure from the public, including a rally during which residents accused Worcester officials of assisting ICE in arresting Ferreira-De Oliveira.
Along with releasing the footage and 911 call from that day, City Manager Eric Batista issued an executive order to establish “guidelines for local response and involvement in federal enforcement of immigration laws and operations including investigations and civil detainments performed by ICE officers,” according to a statement from Batista’s office.
Police officers saw Spring push and shove other officers trying to arrest the daughter, according to a police report.
“Officers also observed Ashley directly point at and spray an unknown liquid in a bottle at officers that were on duty attempting to conduct their job,” the report read.
But Officer Juan Vallejo, who was the one who said he was sprayed, said in the video it was just water.
‘She sprayed me in the face with water’
Vallejo was present on Eureka Street and was involved in the arrest of Ferreira-De Oliveira’s daughter.
Footage and audio from Vallejo’s body camera, which shows him and other officers surrounding the daughter and moving her to the ground, was made available to the public on May 16.
The footage and audio of two other officers, Officer Patrik Hanlon and Officer Shauna McGuirk, were also made public on Friday and uploaded onto the city’s YouTube page.
During the arrest, an officer yells, “You’re under arrest for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.”
Following the arrest of the daughter, Vallejo turns his attention to Spring, who is standing behind him and being handcuffed by another officer.
At the 2:30-mark in the video, Vallejo approaches Spring and points his finger at her, listing charges for another officer: “Disorderly, disturbance, and she sprayed me in the face with water.”
As he moves away from her, the audio catches Spring saying, “It was water.”
Footage from Vallejo and McGuirk, who was also seen arresting the daughter, did not show Spring approach the officers.
The fallout over the arrest
Judge Janet McGuiggan entered a not-guilty plea on Spring’s behalf. Spring was released on her own personal recognizance and is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial hearing on June 23.
Following the arrest, Spring appeared at a protest in front of City Hall on May 13, calling out the actions of ICE, the Worcester Police Department (WPD) and the city’s political leaders.
She criticized the city hall being closed to the public that night, the same night the protesters planned to attend the city council meeting before it was switched to a virtual format.
“While they may be afraid, we are not afraid,” Spring said of Worcester’s leaders.
The city council meeting switched formats after the rally was announced. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty said city officials received “threats of violence.”
The daughter of the mother was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to the WPD.
Following her arrest, she was released from custody and is currently staying with family friends along with her 21-year-old sister, Augusta Clara Moura, Clara Moura’s 3-month-old son, and her other sister, who is also a minor.
In a statement on May 16, Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier announced that the WPD is requesting that the court dismiss the case against Ferreira-De Oliveira’s daughter.
Even though the department wishes to have the case against the daughter dismissed, Saucier noted, however, that “it is important to emphasize that assaulting or interfering with law enforcement officers as they carry out their duties is never acceptable.”
City Manager Eric Batista also announced Friday an executive order on how the WPD responds to federal arrests.
“Enforcement of immigration laws is within the jurisdiction of the federal government, not the municipality and as such, municipal resources shall not be used toward that end,” according to a city statement.“The municipality and the WPD are committed to promoting safety in the community regardless of immigration status.”
As for Ferreira-De Oliveira, she is currently being detained at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, R.I., according to ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS).
