The RecordExhibit 103
Immigration agents shooting people in cars
Pending means: In court or under criminal investigation right now.
An ICE agent in Austin shot DoorDash driver Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in the back during a traffic stop. He was moved from the hospital to a detention center with the bullet still in him, then charged with assault.
What happened
In July, ICE agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at a Houston traffic stop and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. Before Austin, a CNN analysis counted at least 20 people shot by ICE and Border Patrol agents this term, eight of them fatally, nearly all in vehicles. NBC News reported the ICE officer who shot Garces Perez had been issued a body camera but wasn't wearing it.
Where it stands
The Travis County district attorney and Maine's attorney general are investigating. The DA asked DHS to pause Garces Perez's deportation during its probe. In late September a judge temporarily halted Garces Perez's deportation, and Austin police said they had not received the evidence they asked federal investigators for. On Sept. 30, ICE told its deportation officers in a memo obtained by the AP that they may not chase vehicles that fail to pull over under any circumstances, that only officers who have completed specific training may make vehicle stops, and that every officer at a stop must wear an activated body camera. The AP counts more than a dozen vehicle stops since last year in which ICE agents fired their guns, killing at least four people. Court testimony the same day in the Austin case showed that the two officers involved would not have complied with the new rules.
The administration's side
DHS says Garces Perez rolled up his window and drove away, striking an agent with his car. Homeland Security described the memo as a guidance reminder and said vehicle stops and arrests continue.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/agentshootings/