Judge holds off on decision to dismiss charges against former Worcester candidate
A judge on Thursday ruled she will wait before deciding whether to dismiss three charges against a former Worcester School Committee candidate who doused an officer with water during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest.
Ashley R. Spring, who uses they/them pronouns, was previously charged with misdemeanors of assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct and interfering with police officers.
Spring sought to dismiss the charges in Worcester District Court on Thursday morning.
The prosecution, represented by the Northwest District Attorney's office, said that the water from the baby bottle splashed the officer on the right side of his face, distracting him.
Spring's lawyer, Carl Williams argued in court that Spring did not push or shove the officer based on the video footage. He also said the because the police report did not mention that the liquid was water, that there should be a penalty on the state.
Janet J. McGuiggan ruled that she would review the prosecution and the defense's arguments and set a hearing for Nov. 19 to provide an update on the request.
Spring was also charged with a felony of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, which was in reality a baby bottle with water inside.
Prosecutors, however, dropped the charge involving a dangerous weapon on July 23.
The charges stem from an interaction between Spring and a Worcester Police Officer during an ICE operation on May 8. Agents arrested Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, a Brazilian mother of three, on Eureka Street that day.
Spring was one of many people who confronted and protested the ICE agents during the arrest. After 11 a.m. members of the Worcester Police Department arrived on the street, telling people that they were conducting an unlawful assembly.
A gold SUV that ICE agents had placed Ferreira-De Oliveira inside began to drive away from the crowd. As the vehicle began to leave, the mother's 17-year-old daughter ran after it.
Officer Juan Vallejo was one of the officers who was near the daughter during the arrest, according to his body camera footage.
Following the arrest of the daughter, Vallejo turns his attention to Spring, who is standing behind him and being handcuffed by another officer.
At the 2:30 mark in the video, Vallejo approaches Spring and points his finger at her, listing charges for another officer: "Disorderly, disturbance, and she sprayed me in the face with water."
As he moves away from her, the audio catches Spring saying, "It was water."
Even though Spring and Vallejo both stated that the liquid sprayed was water, the police report indicates that Spring sprayed the officer with an "unknown liquid."
Spring initially qualified for the city's general election ballot as a candidate for School District A, running against incumbent committee member Molly O. McCullough.
The city's board of elections, however, ruled that they were ineligible to be on ballot due to not meeting the city charter's residency requirement.
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