A Border Patrol agent who was held up as a symbol of the impunity that critics say pervades the federal government’s immigration crackdown has died of an overdose, the Long Beach Post has learned.
During a wild three-week stretch this summer, Agent Isaiah Hodgson was catapulted to notoriety by a video of him participating in the arrest of a U.S. citizen and, soon after, being arrested himself for allegedly drunkenly assaulting Long Beach police officers.
In the first public disclosure of his cause of death, Hodgson’s attorney told a Long Beach Superior Court judge last week that, while awaiting trial, the 29-year-old died in August of an overdose at his parents’ Riverside County home. Authorities have not yet released an autopsy report that could provide more details about the circumstances.
After his death, the Long Beach Post sought the body camera footage from Hodgson’s tense arrest by Long Beach police outside a Yard House restaurant in July. Police originally denied the request, saying the video was part of an investigative file exempt from disclosure. After an appeal from the Post based on the fact that Hodgson could no longer face charges, they relented.
The roughly seven hours of body camera footage provide a detailed look at the crimes he’s accused of committing and give a glimpse into Hodgson’s mindset during a period when he became a touchpoint in the public’s understanding of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
In June, as immigration agents made more than 2,000 arrests that month across LA County, Hodgson was part of a highly scrutinized roving patrol that made its way to a Pico Rivera Walmart parking lot, scouring for anyone who looked like they might be in the U.S. illegally.
As they drove, two people spotted their marked Border Patrol pickup trucks and ran, according to a supervisor’s account in court documents. Agents gave chase, and one of the men, a janitor working for the Pico Rivera Towne Center, wasn’t able to get away. (He remains in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.)
Adrian Martinez, a 20-year-old on break from his job at Walmart, saw what was happening and decided to intervene.
At the time, roving patrols were a daily occurrence throughout Los Angeles, putting immigrant communities on edge.
In the parking lot that day, Martinez decided to stand up for a man he said he saw as just trying to do his job. He stopped his car and got out to confront the agents. Other bystanders joined in, honking at agents and blocking their exit.
Agents allege Martinez conspired to impede them by parking his car in front of a Border Patrol truck, standing in the way and moving a trash can into the agents’ path. One agent quickly knocked the trash can aside, then shoved Martinez to the ground, video shows. Agents surrounded and grabbed Martinez, forcing him into the back of another Border Patrol truck. During the struggle, DHS alleges, “an agent was punched in the face and another agent was struck in the arm by a member of the group.”
Martinez said he was badly bruised from the rough arrest and later told local TV stations he spent three days detained in downtown Los Angeles despite his mother bringing his birth certificate to prove that he was a U.S. citizen.
As video of Martinez’s arrest racked up views online and started making the rounds on news stations, many viewers homed in on one agent, Hodgson, the only one not wearing a mask. Soon, millions of people had seen his face.
Drunk in Long Beach
Three weeks after the arrest outside Walmart, Hodgson was out drinking. The staff of the Yard House restaurant on the Long Beach waterfront had cut off his group, refusing to serve them any more drinks.
Body camera video shows what they told police late on that night, July 7:
A woman trying to wash her hands found Hodgson in the women’s restroom with a gun and ammunition clip on the sink; he quickly put them into his waistband as she informed him he was in the wrong restroom. He reportedly brushed this aside, called her “sweetie” and asked her on a date.
After a security guard told Hodgson to leave, footage shows he kept wandering around the parking lot, gun and holster in hand. The guard called 911.
As sirens approached, Hodgson tried to ditch his sidearm. Security camera footage shows he dropped it on the grass behind a nearby palm tree. Seconds later, an LBPD officer had Hodgson at gunpoint, ordering him to the ground.
Hodgson instead stood still with his T-shirt raised to his chest and his cellphone in his right hand.
“Don’t reach for anything,” the officer yelled as he started wrestling Hodgson.
Two, then three more officers swarmed, piling on Hodgson as he tried to identify himself as a police officer, telling them, “I’m PD.”
In the chaotic body camera images, Hodgson appears to elbow an officer in the head as they pile on him and scramble for the gun they’d been told he was carrying.
“Stop fighting us,” one yelled repeatedly. Another warned to check the sidewalk; he might’ve dropped the gun.
As the struggle intensified, Hodgson, still on his knees, flailed his left arm and grabbed one officer. They responded by using their Tasers. Finally, after about 90 seconds, Hodgson was down and handcuffed.
With his hands restrained behind his back, Hodgson slurred as he spoke to the officers: “Are you guys serious?” he asked.
While three officers walked Hodgson to a patrol vehicle, two others found the gun stashed behind the palm tree about 40 feet away.
“Yeah, it’s loaded,” one said as he pulled out the ammunition clip. He racked the firing mechanism, ejecting a bullet from the chamber. “Dude,” he told the other officer, “that was close.”
After his arrest, Hodgson was evasive when officers asked him questions — falsely telling them he belonged to a range of different law enforcement agencies in Riverside County. Hours later, still drunk, handcuffed and sitting on a jail bench, he relented and gave the booking sergeant the phone number to notify his Border Patrol supervisor about his arrest.
As the sergeant wrote down the number, Hodgson let out a short, guttural scream and a flurry of expletives.
“I’ve already dealt with so much fucking stress and all this bullshit, man,” Hodgson said, hanging his head.
“Look, brother, making a mistake doesn’t mean you’re a bad person,” the sergeant responded.
Hodgson snapped back. “I’ve made more than one fucking mistake. Everyone just fucking hates me here.”
He then raised his voice and started peppering the sergeant with questions.
“Do you know what doxed is?” Did the sergeant know what it’s like to have his and his family’s personal information plastered across the internet?
Hodgson didn’t elaborate much but implied people had shown up outside his parents’ house because they were upset about actions he’d taken on the job.
Now, Hodgson explained, he was trying to be extra careful, believing “people are after me here in Los Angeles.”
Hodgson was charged with three felony counts of resisting an executive officer, one felony count of battery against a police officer and three misdemeanor counts related to carrying a concealed firearm in public.
The DA’s announcement of the charges drew swift and sweeping condemnation aimed not just at Hodgson but the government he worked for: “For someone, on-duty or off, to come to our community and terrorize a local business is unacceptable and uncalled for,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said at the time. “This is indicative of a broader culture that should be addressed, that our community should be respected and protected.”
If convicted on all counts, Hodgson faced up to seven years in prison, according to prosecutors. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a list of questions asking about Hodgson’s employment history and potential disciplinary actions stemming from his arrest.
In light of his death, the charges are expected to be dismissed soon. His parents spoke briefly with a reporter but then stopped responding. They plan to speak about Hodgson at a Dec. 15 court hearing in Long Beach.
The case against Martinez, accused of impeding Hodgson and his fellow agents, continues. His trial is set to begin in February on charges that could land him in prison for up to six years.