Video: Federal Agents Ram LA Driver With Toddler And Infant In Car, Arresting Him At Gunpoint

LOS ANGELES, CA — Authorities are investigating a Boyle Heights crash that involved federal agents ramming their vehicles into a family's car and then leaving the scene, according to reports.

The crash occurred just before 11 a.m. Wednesday on the 3700 block of Whittier Boulevard, according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. Police were called to respond to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, but officers determined the incident was a U.S. Department of Homeland Security operation, said LAPD Officer Charles Miller. The LAPD is not investigating the incident as a crime, he said.

Citing witnesses, ABC 7 reported that federal agents in two unmarked vehicles, a pickup truck and an SUV, were involved in the incident, along with a civilian's sedan. The station's headline referred to the incident as a "hit-and-run crash."

Local freelance journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel posted video of the incident on social media. The video shows the unmarked trucks box a vehicle in, with one ramming the sedan. Officers in masks and bulletproof vests point guns at the vehicle and order the driver out. He exits the car with his hands up, and they quickly take him into custody.

"A vehicle of three people was rammed by a truck belonging to federal immigration authorities in Boyle Heights," wrote Beckner-Carmitchel. "Authorities then deployed chemical munitions and detained the driver at gunpoint. All are US citizens according to the wife."

A woman holding a baby exits the car after the driver. Activists with Community Service Organization later said a mother and her toddler and infant were also in the car, when federal agents rammed them and deployed tear gas.

Video aired by ABC 7 showed LAPD officers and Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters at the crash site. The federal vehicles apparently departed before a small crowd gathered on the sidewalk.

The LAPD public information officer declined to provide any information about the crash. "We're referring everyone to Homeland Security," he said, referring to the U.S. department in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

Homeland Security officials responded to Patch's request for comment about the crash with a statement by Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

"This was no hit and run. This was a targeted arrest of a violent rioter who punched a CBP officer. When Homeland Security Investigations tried to arrest Christian Damian Cerno-Camacho for the assault, he attempted to flee," she said. "He was ultimately arrested and taken into custody."

“Our officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murders, rapists, and gang members," she added. "Secretary Noem’s message to the LA rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The agency's representatives have been active on social media during the ongoing protests and unrest in Los Angeles, including recently posting a "Simpsons" meme that declares "liberals don't know things" and are "driven by the consumption of fiction."

City News Service contributed to this report.