A video has gone viral featuring a landscaper in Santa Ana who appears to be in a panic, swinging a weed whacker before being subdued by Border Patrol officers.
In the footage, immigration enforcement officers are seen tackling and striking Narciso Barranco—a husband and father to three sons serving as United States Marines—while he was performing landscaping work outside an IHOP located at Edinger and Ritchey in Santa Ana, CA.
The video has sparked outrage, raising questions about the alleged use of force by the agents and whether Barranco, who is undocumented, was allegedly attempting to attack officers trying to detain him or was simply attempting to flee.
Narciso Barranco, a husband and father of three sons who are United States Marines, was detained while he was doing his landscaping job outside an IHOP on Edinger and Ritchey in Santa Ana, CA. (GoFundMe/Jacqueline Vasquez )
“He ASSAULTED federal law enforcement with a WEED WHACKER. Perhaps the mainstream media would like our officers to stand there and be mowed down instead of defending themselves? What a completely slanted portrayal of what actually happened,” the post stated.
In a statement to FOX 11, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claims they took the appropriate steps.
“The agents took appropriate action and following their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers,” the statement read.
“He is a good, hard working man. He has raised his family here and has established himself here. What we ALL saw today was disgusting and heart wrenching. Time after time we are seeing stories like this one,” a GoFundMe for the family stated. (GoFundMe/Jacqueline Vasquez )
However, Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick said he disagreed about what the video supposedly depicts.
“The video shows him vaguely waving a weed whacker at someone far outside his reach, as he runs away from people he says didn’t identify themselves or even say anything as they ran at him. That is not assault under any definition of the term. And it doesn’t merit BEING BEATEN,” Reichlin-Melnick responded in a repost of the video.
A GoFundMe set up by Jacqueline Vasquez says the way immigration officials handled Barranco was “disgusting.”
“He is a good, hard working man. He has raised his family here and has established himself here. What we ALL saw today was disgusting and heart wrenching. Time after time we are seeing stories like this one,” it stated.
According to the page, Barranco had gone over 24 hours without medical attention and was still wearing the bloody clothes he was detained in. It also states he is in a cell with about 70 people and only receives water once a day.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Jacqueline Vasquez for comment.
