Five Arrested at Atlantic City ICE Protest; Police Detail Charges, Pepper-Spray Incident

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Five protesters were arrested and another man was charged with simple assault following a confrontation outside Atlantic City police headquarters Saturday during a demonstration organized after an immigrant-rights group accused local police of interfering with efforts to monitor federal immigration agents.

The Atlantic City Police Department has now released its account of the incident, identifying all five people arrested and detailing the charges against them.

Police said the demonstration began peacefully at about 11 a.m. outside the Clayton G. Graham Public Safety Building before an altercation developed within the crowd.

The arrests followed as officers attempted to clear protesters from the street and an access area at the public safety complex, according to police.

The demonstration had been called by El Pueblo Unido following a disputed traffic stop earlier in the week involving the organization's executive director, Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez.

Police Identify Five Arrested

Police identified those arrested Saturday as:

• Diana Chaparro, 50, of Hammonton, charged with simple assault.

• Jose Salazar, 18, of Princeton, charged with simple assault and illegal possession of a chemical device, identified by police as pepper spray.

• Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, 31, of Atlantic City, charged with obstruction of justice.

• Keli Smith, 41, of Egg Harbor Township, charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest.

• Anthony Diaz, 30, of Newark, charged with obstruction of justice.

Police also said Devon Barber, 28, of Atlantic City, suffered minor injuries during the initial altercation and was issued a complaint for simple assault.

That means five protesters were arrested while a sixth person was charged by summons.

The police account also provides official clarification of a pepper-spray allegation that surfaced following the protest.

Barber had previously told BreakingAC that he was pepper-sprayed by a protester. Police have now charged Salazar with simple assault and illegal possession of a chemical device identified as pepper spray.

The charges are accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Police Say Protesters Refused Orders to Clear Area

According to police, officers responded after an altercation developed among people attending the demonstration.

Police said officers encountered protesters occupying the street as well as another person in an access area that had intentionally been kept open.

Officers ordered those individuals to clear the street and access point, according to the department.

Police said arrests were made after the orders were not followed.

Atlantic City Police Chief James Sarkos said the department recognizes the right of people to demonstrate peacefully but said protesters cannot interfere with access to a public-safety facility.

“The constitutional right to peacefully protest is fundamental and is respected by the Atlantic City Police Department,” Sarkos said.

Sarkos said that right does not extend to obstructing access to the building or interfering with people attempting to obtain police services.

The official account provides considerably more detail than was available immediately following Saturday's protest, when published reports initially differed over whether four or five people had been arrested.

Both BreakingAC and The Press of Atlantic City subsequently reported five arrests.

Protest Stemmed From Disputed Traffic Stop

Saturday's demonstration grew out of a confrontation earlier in the week involving Moreno-Rodriguez while he was following and documenting vehicles associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

El Pueblo Unido accused Atlantic City police of interfering with Moreno-Rodriguez's effort to monitor federal immigration enforcement.

Atlantic City police strongly disputed that characterization.

Sarkos said the officer who stopped Moreno-Rodriguez personally witnessed a dangerous motor vehicle violation that created a risk to public safety.

Police released city surveillance video of the incident and said Moreno-Rodriguez was issued a motor vehicle summons.

The chief also denied that Atlantic City police were assisting ICE and said the department operates in accordance with the New Jersey Attorney General's Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits the circumstances under which state and local police may assist federal immigration authorities.

Police characterized the encounter as a traffic stop resulting from an observed motor vehicle violation and unrelated to immigration enforcement.

El Pueblo Unido rejected that explanation and organized Saturday's emergency demonstration outside police headquarters.

Protest Became Confrontational

The demonstration included supporters of El Pueblo Unido as well as Barber, who had expressed support for ICE while recording the event.

Initial published reports said Barber became involved in a physical confrontation with at least one protester.

Police now say Barber suffered minor injuries during the altercation and was charged by complaint with simple assault.

Attorney Jonathan Diego, who represented people arrested during the protest, previously told BreakingAC that police were placed in a difficult position after the physical confrontation began and said officers acted professionally during the demonstration.

Moreno-Rodriguez was released Saturday afternoon and returned to the demonstration, according to published reports.

Mayor Called for Cooperation

Mayor Marty Small Sr. addressed the dispute Saturday, saying the city and Police Department are not opposed to Atlantic City's Hispanic community and expressing hope that the different sides can work together.

The confrontation comes amid heightened concern within Atlantic City's immigrant community about federal immigration enforcement.

El Pueblo Unido has been monitoring and documenting ICE activity in Atlantic County and encouraging residents to report sightings of federal immigration agents.

The organization maintains that the original traffic stop involving Moreno-Rodriguez interfered with its effort to document ICE activity.

Police maintain that the stop was prompted solely by an officer personally observing unsafe driving.

Saturday's arrests added another chapter to that dispute, but the release of the Police Department's account now establishes the identities of the five people arrested and the charges filed following the demonstration.

South Jersey NewsBeat will continue to follow the case and report additional statements from those charged or El Pueblo Unido, as well as any developments in the municipal court proceedings.