HOUSTON — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer accused of intentionally ramming his car into a Mexican construction worker in Houston was charged Friday with aggravated assault, prosecutors said.
The Harris County District Attorney’s office says Mario Alberto Morales was behind the wheel of an unmarked black vehicle on Oct. 10 when it struck Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, who was running away. Parra Hernandez was later placed in custody with a broken leg.
Few federal officers during President Trump’s immigration crackdown have faced criminal charges for their actions in the field, although some encounters have come under investigation.
The case in Houston was brought by District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, who is also investigating the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder in July that set off protests in the nation’s fourth-largest city.
ICE has said Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the car and called accusations that the officer intentionally struck him false and “reckless.” It called the indictment harging Morales with second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon “a political stunt” and said local officials to not have the authority to investigate federal officers acting in the course of their duties.
“Allegations that ICE struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez intentionally are RECKLESS and FALSE,” ICE said in a statement.
Teare has said video clearly contradicts the ICE account. Surveillance video shows a Jeep Cherokee speeds over a median and drives toward Parra Hernandez as he runs away. During a news conference Friday, he played Morales’ body camera footage, which shows him driving and talking about pursuing someone.
The video shows a steering wheel, with Morales making a few sharp turns, and at one point, it appears the car has shaken as it runs over something. Morales gets out of the car and turns around, where Parra Hernandez is on the ground. Parra Hernandez and Morales speak in Spanish for a few seconds as Parra Hernandez grabs his leg, yelling in pain.
Morales says, “He got hit with a car, bro,” and, “I was coming in and I hit him with the car.”
Morales was not in custody Friday and a warrant will be issued for his arrest, according to Teare, who said prosecutors have been in touch with the officer’s attorney. Teare would not provide information on where Morales lives or who his attorney is.
Family says ICE was looking for a dead person during operation
Other aspects of ICE’s account have also been called into question.
ICE released a photo of another man, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, and said he was the target of the operation that day and was seen entering a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. Family members of Parra Hernandez said they had never heard of him. FIEL, an immigrant rights group in Houston, said Mendoza-Cervantes’ daughter told them her father has been dead since 2017. She also said his real name is Jose Hector Jimenez.
Teare’s office has also said its investigation has not found that Parra Hernandez and the man ICE identified as Mendoza-Cervantes were in a vehicle together, contrary to ICE’s statement.
ICE has not responded to claims that the suspect they were looking for has been dead for nearly a decade.
Parra Hernandez has been in the country for more than 30 years. He was living in the U.S. without authorization, according to FIEL, which has been working with his family.
FIEL hopes that the indictment of Morales would help with their plea to have him released from custody, said Cesar Espinosa, the group’s executive director.
Fatal summer Houston shooting also under investigation
Teare said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has not cooperated with his investigators and accused ICE of destroying evidence “either intentionally or through gross negligence.” He said the ICE officer who drove the SUV that struck Parra Hernandez fled the scene before the vehicle could be impounded.
In July, Teare said DHS also ignored his requests for information after an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in his van. DHS has said Salgado Araujo had “weaponized his vehicle” before the shooting and that an officer fired in self-defense. Other passengers in the van have disputed that account.
Teare has not given a timetable for when his office’s investigation into the shooting will be complete. In September, a witness to the shooting was seen entering a courthouse area reserved for grand jury proceedings.
Wilder and Oyekanmi write for the Associated Press. Wilder reported from Austin.
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