WORCESTER — Worcester’s police union is calling for city officials to conduct an ethics investigation into City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, accusing the local councilor of using her elected position to incite aggression towards police officers.
Two people, a juvenile and a Worcester School Committee candidate, were arrested on Thursday after chaos erupted and police officers were assaulted on Eureka Terrace in Worcester when federal agents detained a Brazilian woman.
In a statement released Friday night, Worcester Police Patrol Officers’ Union Local 911 President Thomas Duffy said Worcester police officers and federal agents ”were threatened, abused and even assaulted on scene."
Police union officials called out Haxhiaj for inciting the violence towards law enforcement officers.
“Of particular concern in this case, one of our elected policy makers and someone who has created this difficult task for the police, District 5 City Councilor, Etel Haxhiaj, incited aggression towards the police during the incident,” Duffy said.
“This councilor participated in the conduct of the unruly crowd and eventually assaulted both Worcester police and federal law enforcement officers on scene,” Duffy said.
“Her behavior also emboldened others to act in this manner,” Duffy said. “The conduct of this anti-police activist councilor is deplorable and unacceptable.”
“Regardless of political opinions or views, city officials should never condone the assault of an officer and flat-out disregard to the point of violent opposition, the authority of police to maintain safety and public order,” Duffy said.
Boston 25 has reached out to Haxhiaj for comment.
During a press conference earlier Friday, Haxhiaj blasted federal and local law enforcement for their response to the Worcester neighborhood.
“The message for ICE is: Get out of our city,” Haxhiaj said during the press conference.
“The response yesterday from the federal government and the police department was completely unacceptable,” Haxhiaj said during the press conference.
Worcester Police said officers responded to Eureka Terrace around 11:15 a.m. Thursday after learning of 25 people reportedly surrounding a federal agent.
Witnesses told Boston 25 News tensions grew after federal authorities intercepted a family in a BMW with a two-month-old baby in tow.
A crowd of neighbors, community leaders, and immigration activists went to the scene and tried to stop the family from being separated.
Then, things escalated.
Neighbors at the scene accused ICE agents of not having a warrant and wanted to know why they were taking the unidentified woman into custody.
Worcester Police officers were dispatched to Eureka Street for the call from federal law enforcement officers needing assistance “due to a hostile and uncooperative crowd surrounding them,” Duffy said.
Officers arriving on scene continued to call for more officers as the scene continued to escalate rapidly, Duffy said.
“Police officers respond to a variety of highly emotional calls daily and there is nothing that can be more emotional or difficult to deal with than a call that involves times when families are separated or arrested or taken into custody in front of other family members,” Duffy said.
“These types of calls for assistance can be extremely dangerous and place officers at a high risk of injury due to the high emotions people feel at the time,” Duffy said.
“Our officers always strive to be as compassionate as we can daily,” Duffy said. “We as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters understand human emotions and try to be as empathetic as we can while still doing the job we are required to do daily.”
Duffy said all available Worcester police officers were dispatched to Eureka Street on Thursday “to protect the public and ensure the safety of federal and Worcester police officers on scene.”
“For obvious reasons, officers became concerned for their safety and that of the federal agents based on the actions of the crowd,” Duffy said. “They tried to deescalate the situation and prevent injury to all present.”
Ashley Spring, 38, a Worcester School Committee candidate on the November ballot, was among those arrested following Thursday’s incident.
Spring is accused of pushing multiple officers at the scene and throwing an unknown liquid substance on the officers. She is charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and interfering with a police officer.
A juvenile was also arrested. Neighbors said the teenager is the daughter of a Brazilian woman ICE agents were detaining.
The teen reportedly held a baby in front of a law enforcement vehicle as officers were detaining the woman and chaos unfolded at the scene.
The teen was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Her name was not released because she is a juvenile.
Worcester Police said more charges could be coming at the local level as police review videos showing the crowd surrounding and, in some cases, assaulting law enforcement officers.
Federal authorities will also review the incident and “determine whether federal charges may be coming for those involved,” union officials said.
“The Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union Local 911 will not stand silently in the face of such outrageous conduct or allow the safety of our officers to be put at risk by any individual,” Duffy said.
Police union leaders called Haxhiaj “unfit to serve” after Thursday’s incident.
“Any official, particularly a sitting councilor, who acts in such a manner is, in the opinions of those of us ordered to keep the peace during such hostilities, unfit to serve,” Duffy said.
“This councilor’s egregious actions were not limited to physical interference, as she attempted to use her official position several times to interfere with the police on scene,” Duffy said.
Union officials said this type of conduct is controlled by the state’s ethical laws and our own city charter.
“Councilor Haxhiaj, in our opinion, broke her oath and these ethical laws, and in doing so put the safety of our officers and our citizens at great risk,” Duffy said. “The members of the Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union Local 911 condemn this councilor’s disrespectful and dangerous behavior.”
“We will take the necessary steps to hold her and anyone who assaults our officers accountable and call upon those state and local policy makers to do the same,” Duffy said.
“We demand that the city conduct an ethics investigation into her conduct,” Duffy said in his statement.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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