A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer accused of intentionally ramming his car into a Mexican construction worker in Houston was indicted by a grand jury Friday on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, prosecutors said.
asserted
prosecutors → accuse → weapon
The officer, Mario Alberto Morales, was driving an unmarked SUV on Oct. 10 when he struck and ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, who was running away during a pursuit through a parking lot, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
uncertain
who → drive → Office
Parra Hernandez broke his leg and remains in federal custody at a rehabilitation facility, said District Attorney Sean Teare, who announced the indictment at a news conference that included body camera video of the encounter and a recording of Morales calling 911.
asserted
Morales → break → 911
ICE has asserted that Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, an account that Teare said is contradicted by video.
asserted
Teare → assert → video
“The evidence we have in this case is as clear as any that I’ve ever prosecuted or investigated,” Teare said.
asserted
Teare → have → that
Morales, 33, is one of just a few federal officers who have faced criminal charges over their actions on the job during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, although other encounters have come under investigation, including a fatal shooting by an ICE officer this summer in Houston.
asserted
encounters → face → Houston
Morales’ attorney, David Lindenmuth, said his client did not commit a crime.
asserted
client → say → crime
He and ICE both said Morales did not intentionally strike Parra Hernandez and accused the Democratic district attorney of indicting Morales for political reasons.
asserted
Morales → say → reasons
“Mr. Morales is truly a good man, a former member of our military, that has given his entire life to public service either for his country or in or adjacent to law enforcement,” Lindenmuth told The Associated Press.
asserted
Lindenmuth → give → Press
“To have him charged for what was so clearly just an accident — the DA’s office, the DA himself, has invented a crime out of thin air.”
asserted
office → have → air
Teare hinted at concerns over Morales’ background but would not provide details.
asserted
Teare → hint → details
Morales had worked as an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer for a little more than a year, Lindenmuth said.
asserted
Lindenmuth → work → year
Morales, who is charged with a second-degree felony, was not in custody Friday and a warrant will be issued for his arrest, according to Teare.
uncertain
warrant → charge → Teare
The district attorney played Morales' body camera footage and 911 call
Parra Hernandez has lived in Harris County for more than 30 years and did not have a deportation order or criminal background, according to Teare.
He was in a vehicle that ICE tried to stop he jumped out and was followed by Morales, who was in a Jeep Cherokee.
uncertain
who → play → Cherokee
Previously released surveillance video shows the Jeep speed over a median and drive toward Parra Hernandez as he runs away.
asserted
he → release → Hernandez
Morales’ body camera footage that Teare played Friday shows the officer making a few sharp moves with the steering wheel before the SUV shakes.
asserted
SUV → play → wheel
Morales stops the vehicle, then gets out and turns toward Parra Hernandez, who is several feet away.
asserted
who → stop → Hernandez
Parra Hernandez is on the ground and grabbing his leg, yelling in pain.
asserted
Hernandez → grab → pain
Morales is heard saying, “He got hit with a car, bro.”
asserted
He → hear → car
It is not clear to whom he is talking.
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he → talk → whom
“I was coming in and I hit him with the car,” Morales says after another ICE officer arrives.
asserted
officer → come → car
In a 911 audio recording in which Morales requests an ambulance, Parra Hernandez can be heard yelling.
asserted
Hernandez → request → ambulance
Morales tells the operator, “He’s fine.
asserted
He → tell → operator
He’s just complaining of pain.”
asserted
He → complain → pain
Parra Hernandez told police Morales ‘threw the car’ at him
Parra Hernandez told deputies that he believed a police officer was stopping the vehicle he was in but got scared and fled when the man started putting on a mask.
He repeatedly told deputies that Morales “threw the car at me,” according to a Harris County Sheriff’s Office incident report reviewed by the AP.
uncertain
Morales → tell → AP
Morales told deputies he did not intentionally hit Parra Hernandez.
asserted
he → tell → Hernandez
He acknowledged that he did not brake before hitting Parra Hernandez and said he was trying to avoid another truck in the parking lot.
asserted
he → acknowledge → lot
Body camera video indicated that Morales had two other suspects in custody in his backseat, according to the report.
uncertain
Morales → indicate → report
But the deputy wrote that Morales told them there was no one else inside.
asserted
Morales → write → them
“From the beginning the video told a different story than what was offered by the agency,” Parra Hernandez’s attorney, Kim Bruno, said Friday, adding that her client has suffered not just fractures in his leg, but nerve damage and chronic pain.
Family says ICE was looking for a dead person during operation
asserted
ICE → tell → operation
aspects of ICE’s account have also been called into question.
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aspects → call → question
After Parra Hernandez was taken into custody, ICE released a photo of another man, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, and said he was the target of the operation that day.
asserted
he → take → operation
ICE said he was seen entering a vehicle with Parra Hernandez.
asserted
he → say → Hernandez
Family members of Parra Hernandez said they had never heard of him.
asserted
they → say → him
FIEL, an immigrant rights group in Houston that has been working with the family, said Mendoza-Cervantes’ daughter told them her father has been dead since 2017.
asserted
father → work → 2017
Teare’s office has previously 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.
asserted
ICE → say → statement
ICE has not responded to claims that the suspect they were looking for has been dead for years.
uncertain
they → respond → years
The Aporia
