Video shows ICE agent pointing gun at unarmed bystander in North Hollywood

A video obtained by the Los Angeles Times shows a masked federal immigration agent pointing a handgun inches from the face of an unarmed bystander during an arrest Friday morning in North Hollywood, Los Angeles ². The footage, credited to resident Damari Butler, has circulated widely on social media ¹.

The video shows several agents arresting another man when a bystander walking two dogs came upon the scene ². One agent dropped a spray canister, and the bystander picked it up and threw it into the street ². A second agent then shoved him into bushes and held the gun to his face before stepping back and holstering it, the Times reported ².

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Butler, who filmed from his balcony near Vineland Place and Otsego Street just before 8:30 a.m., said the detained man was tackled with no warning ². "There was no asking what his name was, no ID, nothing," he said. "They just grabbed him."

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the Times reported ². Newsweek said it contacted ICE, DHS and California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday by email outside regular office hours ¹. ICE and DHS officials did not respond to inquiries about the man who was detained or why, according to the Times ².

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Experts question the agent's response

Jim Bueermann, former police chief of Redlands and founder of the Future Policing Institute, told the Times that agents might have been justified in drawing a gun when the bystander reached for the canister, but that they could not justify rushing him and putting a gun to his face ². "These agents are not displaying very good officer safety," he said ².

Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor and former police officer, said the agent's reaction was inappropriate ². "I can understand agents not wanting a bystander to have a canister of pepper spray, but at the point the agent pointed his weapon at the guy, he's tossed it quite a distance," he said ².

Butler said the scene left him shaken ². "It just shows you how powerless we are," he said. "I thought that man was going to die."

The mayor wants an investigation

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the situation "unacceptable" and said it "will not be tolerated in L.A." ². She said she was engaging the Attorney General's office to "investigate and prosecute any wrongdoing by these federal agents" and had referred the matter to the office of U.S. Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat leading oversight on federal immigration enforcement abuses ².

City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is running against Bass in the upcoming election, said she was outraged and called street arrests "kidnappings" ². "LA is not a playground for the Trump regime's inhumane operations, and Angelenos should not have to live in fear of going to work, taking their kids to school, or living their life," she said ².

The incident came a day after a federal judge barred agents in Southern California from stopping people based on racial stereotypes, finding that immigration officials had detained people in the area because they appeared Latino, the Times reported ². It also follows a Texas case in which federal immigration officer Mario Alberto Morales was charged this week with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly driving an SUV into a fleeing man on October 10 ¹.

Newsweek reported that more than 20 people, both suspected illegal migrants and U.S. citizens, have been shot by ICE agents since Trump returned to office in January 2025, some fatally ¹. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found 40 percent of registered voters believed Republicans have the better immigration policy, against 38 percent for Democrats, down from a 26-point Republican lead in January 2025 ¹.

That matters because the video lands three days before Tuesday's midterm election, with control of Congress at stake and immigration already a central issue in races nationwide. No one appears to have been injured in the North Hollywood incident ².

The Record

1. Oct 30, 2026A video obtained by the Los Angeles Times shows an ICE agent pointing a handgun at an unarmed dogwalker during an arrest in North Hollywood ².
2. Oct 30, 2026Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the incident unacceptable and said she was engaging the Attorney General's office to investigate ².
3. Oct 31, 2026Newsweek reported the footage had circulated widely on social media and that it had sought comment from ICE, DHS and Governor Gavin Newsom ¹.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “Video Shows ICE Agent Pointing Gun At Unarmed Bystander During Arrest” (2026-10-31). newsweek.com/video-shows-ice-agent-pointing-gun-at-unarmed-b
2. Los Angeles Times, “Video shows ICE agent pointing handgun in North Hollywood bystander's face - Los Angeles Times” (2026-10-30). latimes.com/california/story/2026-10-30/video-shows-ice-agen

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