Worcester police have charged City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj with assaulting an officer during a federal immigration operation last month that turned chaotic.
Haxhiaj was among about 30 people who confronted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a residential neighborhood as they took a woman into custody. Worcester police say they responded to the scene after receiving calls expressing concerns about the crowd.
Court records show that in addition to the misdemeanor count of assault and battery on an officer, Haxhiaj faces a separate criminal charge of interfering with police.
In a statement Wednesday in response to the charges, Haxhiaj defended her actions during the ICE operation.
“I am a mother, an immigrant and elected leader who attempted, along with other Worcester residents, to protect a traumatized person, two mothers and an infant,” she wrote in a post on the social media platform BlueSky. “I did the humane thing to do in this situation, nothing more, nothing less.”
Body camera footage from that day released by police shows Haxhiaj pleading with federal agents not to take the woman into custody. At one point, a Worcester officer pulls Haxhiaj away from a federal immigration vehicle. In the process, Haxhiaj’s hands make contact with the officer.
“Do not touch me!” Haxhiaj yells.
In a statement, Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier said officers on scene decided not to arrest the councilor to avoid inflaming the crowd during a chaotic situation. Saucier said he supports the decision to file charges against her.
“It is important for the public to know that if someone assaults a police officer or attempts to interfere with an arrest, he or she will be charged and held accountable,” he said.
Worcester police unions have also denounced Haxhiaj’s behavior, accusing her of interfering and assaulting officers. Conversely, many residents say Worcester officers used excessive force during the incident, continuing a pattern highlighted by a recent U.S. Department of Justice investigation.
Haxhiaj is among a group of city councilors who’ve consistently called for more police accountability in response to the DOJ probe, which also found that Worcester officers engage in “outrageous” sexual conduct.
In her BlueSky post, Haxhiaj suggested that her calls for more police oversight have led to “political grandstanding and attacks.”
“I look forward to responding to these charges in court,” she wrote.
