A former Worcester city councilor on Wednesday was convicted of assaulting a police officer during the chaotic arrest of a woman by federal immigration agents last year.
Jurors found Etel Haxhiaj guilty on the misdemeanor charge and acquitted her on a separate charge of interfering with law enforcement after a two-day trial in Worcester District Court.
The charges stemmed from interactions between Haxhiaj and a Worcester police officer moments after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents placed a 40-year-old Brazilian woman into custody on Eureka Street last May.
Haxhiaj lost her reelection bid for the District 5 seat in November.
The assault on a public employee charge typically results in a minimum 90-day jail sentence, but Judge Zachary Hillman ordered Haxhiaj to six months of probation and 40 hours of community service, according to court documents. Her probation ends on July 28.
She testified during the trial that she did not mean to touch the city police officer and was trying to protect her constituents, particularly the 17-year-old daughter of the woman detained by ICE who local police then arrested at the scene.
“At every juncture, the justice system tried to shame me into admitting something I did not do,” she said in a statement defending her actions posted to social media Wednesday evening. She said she felt that as she received scrutiny as an elected official, the police department’s conduct was overlooked.
In her post, Haxhiaj also thanked her supporters and called for greater oversight of police. Specifically, she demanded “the creation of a civilian review board with subpoena powers” and pledges from city police and Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early to protect residents from “federal aggression” and prosecute agents who break the law.
“My standard is protecting my constituents and Worcester Police should be held to the same constitutional standard as everyone,” she said. “The special prosecutor asked that I repent by issuing a direct apology, in exchange for dropping the charges with probation. I chose the truth.”
Prosecutors with the Northwestern district attorney’s office tried the case after Early recused his office.
“Peaceful political protest is a protected and cherished constitutional right, while physical assault on law enforcement officers is not,” First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne said in a statement. “Today’s verdict reinforces that distinction.”
Another defendant in the case, Ashley Spring, was also charged in the incident last year. She avoided trial after agreeing to be placed on pretrial probation through May of this year.
