Arabic version: توجيه اتهام إلى ضابط في إدارة الهجرة والجمارك بعد واقعة مركبة في تكساس
According to ABC News, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been indicted by a Texas grand jury after a Mexican construction worker was struck by a vehicle during a pursuit in Houston last month. Mario Alberto Morales was charged on Friday with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, prosecutors said.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Morales was driving an unmarked SUV on October 10 when he struck and ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez, who was running through a parking lot. District Attorney Sean Teare said video contradicted ICE’s assertion that Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle. Parra Hernandez broke his leg and remains in federal custody at a rehabilitation facility.
Body camera footage played by prosecutors showed Morales making sharp steering movements before the SUV shook. After stopping, he got out and turned toward Parra Hernandez, who was on the ground holding his leg. Morales is heard saying that Parra Hernandez was hit by a car and later tells a 911 operator that he hit him with the vehicle. He also told the operator that Parra Hernandez was “fine” and complaining of pain.
Morales’s lawyer, David Lindenmuth, said his client did not commit a crime and described the incident as an accident. ICE and the lawyer said Morales did not intentionally strike Parra Hernandez, while accusing the Democratic district attorney of political motives. Morales was not in custody on Friday, and Teare said a warrant would be issued for his arrest. Parra Hernandez’s lawyer, Kim Bruno, said her client has fractures, nerve damage and chronic pain.
