Texas DA Says ICE Agent Appeared to Intentionally Hit Man With SUV
A Texas prosecutor says surveillance video appears to show an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent intentionally hitting a man with an SUV during an enforcement operation in Houston, and he is weighing criminal charges.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the footage suggests "the car was used as a deadly weapon," adding that this "certainly is what appears to have happened," according to the Associated Press. He said the most obvious charge would be aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
What Happened in Houston
The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. Saturday during an ICE operation in Houston. ICE said officers were searching for Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, who had a deportation order.
Surveillance footage from a nearby camera shows two men jumping out of a white pickup truck and running in different directions through a parking lot. A dark SUV chases one of them from behind, The Texas Tribune reported. Seconds later, the man, Miguel Parra-Hernandez, 48, is seen on the ground.
His family says he suffered two broken legs. He has already had surgery below his knee, and doctors are waiting for swelling in his ankle to go down before a reconstructive operation, according to Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the immigrant rights group FIEL Houston.
ICE Disputes the Account
ICE says Parra-Hernandez was in the same vehicle as Mendoza-Cervantes and ran into the agent's path. "Miguel Parra-Hernandez ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck," ICE spokesperson Tim Oberle said. The agency later called the allegations of intentional contact "reckless and false."
Mendoza-Cervantes, who ICE said has prior arrests for DUI and unlawful firearm possession, escaped on foot. Federal agents were still searching for him as of Tuesday.
Parra-Hernandez's attorney, Kim Bruno, said her client does not know Mendoza-Cervantes and was not with him Saturday. FIEL said he was on his way to work. His niece said he has lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years without legal trouble. ICE says he is in the country illegally.
"To add insult to injury, Mr. Miguel is in the custody of the ICE agents who ran him down," Espinosa said. He said he saw two ICE agents in Parra-Hernandez's hospital room.
Questions Over Evidence
Teare said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have not cooperated with his investigation, and his office has no access to the SUV involved.
According to NBC News, Teare said ICE refused a request to download the vehicle's data recorder, and an agent drove the vehicle away while investigators were preparing a search warrant. He said that data may have been wiped. A DHS official said multiple officers were wearing body cameras and that ICE is reviewing the video.
"No badge puts anyone above the law in Harris County," Teare said in a statement. He said a charging decision will come "in a relatively short order." The agent involved has not been publicly identified, and DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
A Pattern of Investigations
This is not the first time Teare has clashed with federal immigration authorities. He said DHS ignored his request for information after an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in Houston in July.
In September, an ICE agent also shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, a DoorDash driver in Austin. Prosecutors in both Harris and Travis counties are investigating. Charges against immigration agents are not unheard of. An ICE agent was charged earlier this year over a January shooting in Minnesota.
"ICE's word alone is not enough," Rep. Sylvia Garcia said on social media. Parra-Hernandez's brother, Rodolfo Parra, put it simply: "We want justice."
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