Reports of masked agents, arrests in Riverhead Friday morning

There have been multiple reports of ICE activity in Riverhead Friday morning. 

One witness contacted RiverheadLOCAL to report vehicles with blacked-out windows parked on Harrison Avenue near the intersection with Osborn and masked agents in tactical vests surrounding a white vehicle while parents and school buses were dropping children off early this morning. The activity caused traffic to back up along the road shortly after 7 a.m.

Another witness reported seeing a masked agent chasing a man across West Main Street at about  8 a.m. The witness, a passing motorist, saw the agent tackle the man on the south side of West Main Street near the intersection with Center Drive, across from the Riverhead library.

Tu Prensa Local reported that a volunteer with OLA’s rapid response group was in the area after receiving community alerts and witnessed a man waiting at the Riverhead train station run towards the library at about 7:20 a.m.  The witness said the man ran to the other side of the building and was tackled by a masked agent and arrested, then placed inside an SUV. It is not known if this was the same man who a motorist reported seeing run across West Main Street pursued by an agent, who tackled him. 

Osman Canales, who tracks ICE activity in the area and posts video, often livestreamed, to his Facebook page, posted a video at 9:21 a.m. depicting masked agents arresting a man in an undisclosed location in Riverhead. The arrest took place in a parking lot. The man being arrested was cooperative as he stood while being searched and handcuffed. Canales did not state the exact location of the incident, but had been livestreaming video to Facebook as he drove around Riverhead in the hours prior to that arrest.

Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost could not immediately be reached by phone this morning for comment on whether police officers witnessed any of this activity and took any action. Riverhead Police have traffic control officers handling school crossings outside the middle school and other school buildings during student arrival and departure times every day. The police department also has school resource officers assigned to both the middle school and high school.

The chief returned a voicemail message after this article was published. He said he checked with both school resource officers and the school superintendent Bob Hagan, who told him that there was no ICE enforcement activity on school property and none of the district’s children were affected. Frost also said the officers assigned to school crossing posts outside the middle school this morning did not witness any enforcement activity or traffic stops by federal agents. It may be that any activity occurred prior to their arrival at their posts, Frost said.

Frost reiterated that federal agents do not notify local police in advance of, during or after any activity in the local police jurisdiction.

Riverhead Schools Superintendent Bob Hagan said in an interview after publication of this article that when he said no children “were affected” Friday, he did not intend “to minimize the distress that any of our students or families may be experiencing.” He added, referencing the reported appearance of agents in the vicinity of the middle school early Friday morning, “To my knowledge, children were not confronted by agents.”

Editor’s note: This article was amended after it was published to add comments from Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost and Riverhead School Superintendent Bob Hagan.