An ICE agent crashed an unmarked vehicle into an embankment near the entrance of the Santa Barbara County Jail on Friday morning, in an incident that prompted a large response from community defense groups and local public agencies as the damaged vehicle leaked fluids into a nearby drain and blocked half of the roadway for nearly two hours.
Volunteers from SBResiste were among the first to document the incident, which began when a convoy of four ICE vehicles was seen near the Main Jail around 7:30 a.m Friday.
Chelsea Lancaster, a community organizer who patrols the community daily for immigration enforcement, said the ICE agents were seen attempting to pursue a man who had just been released from the jail. In the pursuit, the man reportedly fell from a fence and badly injured his leg. Lancaster and multiple witnesses said the man was taken to the hospital.
Another volunteer observer, Osiris Castañeda, says that ICE agents have been seen near the county jails more regularly in the past few weeks, often attempting to make arrests just outside of the jail, near County Road and Calle Real. At the same spot, just over two weeks ago on March 10, Castañeda said he was pepper-sprayed by an ICE agent who reportedly tackled and beat another man, who was later sent to the hospital to be treated for injuries to his face and mouth…