Federal agents and D.C. police detained a man along the National Mall as he cried and screamed for help on Wednesday afternoon.
The immigration enforcement action happened near the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. It comes as President Donald Trump promises to crack down on crime and illegal immigration in D.C.
News4 was on the Mall to cover another story when we saw law enforcement pull the man over. Officers and agents appeared to make a traffic stop of a man in a blue SUV with an Uber decal. He got out of the car and spoke with officers. After about 12 seconds out the car, he appears to try to escape. Two members of law enforcement quickly take him to the ground and are joined by four others.
“I don’t owe anything! I don’t owe anything!” he repeatedly yells in Spanish. “Please! I’m not a criminal! I work here! I want to be with my family!”
At one point, six men could be seen kneeling on the ground over the man as he continued to scream. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Park Police and Metropolitan Police Department insignias can be seen. They pin the man to the pavement for about 2 minutes, as National Guard troops can be seen standing on the side, watching.
As officers pulled him into their vehicle, News4 and Telemundo 44 asked him what his name was in English and in Spanish. “David Perez-Teofani!” he cries out in response.
Perez-Teofani, age 36, is from Mexico. According to an ICE official, he entered the U.S. illegally three times, and has a final order of removal. He was arrested in Fairfax County last January, ICE told NBC News, and charged with aggravated sexual battery against a minor under 13 for proposing sexual acts — a felony indecent liberties charge.
But Virginia’s online court records show that those charges against Perez-Teofani were dropped in 2024.
News4 has reached out to the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for comment.
News4 and Telemundo 44 asked the agents and officers kneeling over the man during his arrest why he was stopped and detained. They did not answer.
Learn more about his arrest here: http://nbc4dc.com/4j9CIJg
#washingtondc #dcpolicetakeover #immigration #lamigra
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