By Ruben Vives
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department said a protester was arrested after spraying a chemical agent on two officers outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The department said on X that the incident occurred early Saturday when LAPD officers were trying to clear debris from the road and were surrounded by protesters.
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The detention center has been the center of ongoing protests against federal immigration authorities and the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. There are more than 60,000 immigrant detainees in federal detention centers, according to federal government data.
In an effort to deescalate the situation early Saturday, the department said the officers got in their vehicle and were starting to drive away when a protester “reached in and sprayed a chemical agent, which nearly caused a traffic collision.”
The officers were able to leave the area safely and call for an ambulance, according to the social media post.
LAPD said the two officers were treated and released, and the protester was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
An LAPD spokesperson did not have further details on the arrest or the name of the person taken into custody.
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