Video shows teen detained by immigration agent in Key West

A cellphone video recorded in Key West is gaining attention online.

The two-minute clip, shot around noon on Feb. 14 along Staples Avenue near George Street, shows a Border Patrol agent struggling with a young man on the ground, repeatedly warning him he would be tased.

“Stop, you’re going to get tased. You’re going to get tased,” the agent can be heard saying.

The young man on the ground responds, “Hey, bro. I got to work.”

Family members identified him as 19-year-old Luis Sandoval Gomez. A relative told NBC6 he was detained just a block from his home.

Witness: ‘He wasn’t resisting.‘

Jason Smith, who recorded the encounter, told NBC6 he happened upon the scene while biking home.

“I was just passing by, and I saw it taking place,” Smith said.

In the video, witnesses can be heard shouting at the agent. At one point, someone yells, “Sir, that’s a kid, he’s not resisting you. You threw him off his bike.”

The video begins with the agent trying to restrain Sandoval Gomez on the ground. It does not show what led up to the physical struggle.

Smith said from what he observed, Sandoval Gomez was not trying to flee.

“The kid was sitting there on his phone,” Smith said. “He wasn’t trying to escape. He wasn’t resisting.”

Family: ‘We are not criminals.’

Out of fear, Sandoval Gomez’s family spoke to NBC6 only by phone.

“It’s an injustice. It’s tremendous pain. When I see the video, I can’t believe it,” an aunt said in Spanish.

She says Sandoval Gomez has a valid work permit and has been going through the asylum process since 2022. She described him as a hard worker who prepares food at a local restaurant.

“We are not criminals. We only came to this beautiful country to work,” she said.

NBC6 checked Florida public records and found no criminal history for Sandoval Gomez.

His aunt says she was able to speak with him Sunday, adding he is currently being held at the state-run detention camp commonly referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz” and hopes he will be released on bond.

Law enforcement consultant weighs in

NBC6 showed the video to Paul Cappitelli, a retired California police captain and law enforcement consultant.

“My expertise tells me that first of all, the person he was trying to detain was not being cooperative,” Cappitelli said after reviewing the video.

He added that he did not see strikes or kicks by the agent and described the officer’s actions as an attempt to gain control using physical strength.

Cappitelli said the agent’s language toward bystanders may warrant review.

“I’m not condoning it. I’m just saying it does happen, and it’s probably something that their employer should address with them,” he said.

He cautioned that short video clips do not always capture the full context of an encounter.

Second man, an American citizen, says he was detained while filming

Another Key West resident, Dan Mathers, says he also had a run-in last summer with a federal agent.

“We saw a surge of enforcement here starting in June and July,” Mathers said.

So, when Mathers saw an immigration agent arresting a man on July 21, he started recording. 

In that video, the agent repeatedly warns him not to interfere and references “18 USC 111,” a federal statute that punishes anyone who “forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes” with federal officers.

“Stop interfering with my investigation,” the agent tells Mathers.

“25 feet. I am here now,” Mathers said while walking back.

“Do not get closer…” the agent can be heard saying. “I will arrest you.”

But the agent’s warning doesn’t stop Mathers from speaking his mind.

“I thought you’d be taller. You’re a lot shorter in real life,” he tells the agent, who, it appears, was about to get into his SUV. 

“You are threatening me,” the agent tells Mathers, who responds, “I did not threaten you.”

Visibly frustrated, the agent walks towards Mathers and tells him, “I am going to arrest you.”

Before the video stops, Mathers asked onlookers to call the police.

“I was never charged with anything,” Mathers said. “However, I was cuffed, put in a vehicle, driven an hour up the Keys, and held in the Marathon Border Patrol Detention Center for eight or nine hours.”

He says he was eventually released without paperwork or explanation.

No response from Border Patrol

NBC6 reached out to U.S. Border Patrol to ask about both incidents. By the time of publication, we have received no response.

Meanwhile, Sandoval Gomez’s family says they are praying for his release. 

“This pain,” his aunt said, “I still can’t believe it.”