Harris County DA launches investigation after man hit by ICE vehicle

So Sean, let's start with the background. What made you guys want to launch this independent investigation? We run an independent investigation anytime that a law enforcement officer injures or kills a community member. It's something that we've done for decades. No different whether it's a federal agent or a local law enforcement officer. The difference is that when it is the Harris County Sheriff's Department, Houston Police Department, any of our other 86 law enforcement agencies they cooperate they invite us in they work with us because we're all just trying to get to the truth of what happened that's different in these two investigations ICE specifically and DHS as a whole is in no way cooperating they certainly don't seem to want to hold anyone accountable uh themselves included so what has been the biggest roadblock for you so far uh truly it's just the the lack of cooperation the lack of collaboration the sheriff's department was genuinely amazing they got there informed us immediately we were on the scene with our investigators and our prosecutors uh from the very moment that that this happened really and we've been there since we've been canvassing we've been uh talking to witnesses and everything else and so as we continue down the path this case is likely going to come to a charging decision even before the Salgado case finally does what specific criminal charges are you going to be evaluating so in a case like this the the the most obvious criminal charge is an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon meaning the car was used as a deadly weapon it certainly is what appears to have happened based on the surveillance footage but we're going to go through all of our due diligence we're going to have crash reconstruction evaluated we've already flown our drones we've mapped the area and so in all likelihood that will be the charge that we're evaluating as to whether or not to file so members of the media we have that surveillance video that shows the incident there is a car kind of blocking the moment of impact were you guys able to obtain surveillance video of the other angle so we've got a number of different pieces of surveillance we have investigators back out on the scene today working through really being able to piece together as much as we possibly can once we get that kind of full picture we're gonna we're gonna be at a at a position where we are likely making a charging decision so we haven't we haven't gotten all the way through it all. But we also put out a secure portal link that it goes directly to the DA's office. It's not being shared with federal agencies. It's not in any way something that our public should be scared of sharing information with us. So anyone that might have cell phone footage, anyone that might have been a witness and is scared to come forward because of their status can feel comfortable coming forward through that portal. Because Harris County DA's office, we don't ask your status. That is not part of our job. Our job is to get to the truth and hold people accountable when members of our community are hurt. Does that create challenges in the investigation when people are maybe submitting information anonymously through a portal? You know, you have to do that extra vetting process. Does that take an extra amount of time? Certainly, and we vet every piece of evidence that we get regardless of how it comes to us. But what we're really just trying to do is get a complete picture. And so as we're going through this now, anything, regardless of whether or not the person thinks it's relevant, everything helps. Any bit of information helps as we go forward. Have you found any eyewitnesses so far that have what you believe to be a credible account of the events that happened? Well, something that is genuinely amazing to me is that the vehicle that was used to strike this individual, driven by an ICE agent, had two other people that were already detained and in custody in the back seat. I've been doing this job for 20 years. I have trained at the HPD Academy. I've trained at the Harris County Sheriff's Department Academy. You never engage in another pursuit once you already have people in custody in your vehicle. You're putting them at greater danger. It's just not the way that things should happen. And so when we see these ICE agents and their tactics continue to ramp up and continue to be so outside of the norm for law enforcement as a whole, it's terrifying. And our community is less safe because of their behavior. So two individuals were detained in the backseat of the vehicle that struck the man that's now in the hospital. That is our understanding, yes. And those two are in custody as we speak from ICE So when it comes to those two individuals who, if they were in the back of the car, they are witnesses to this event, how do you make sure that these men are not deported before you're able to complete your investigation? By definition, they are material witnesses to a case. And so we're working to get their consulates notified, to work with their immigration attorneys to kind of fulfill our role, which would be to certify that they are material witnesses for a U visa application. And we are in the process of doing all of that right now. Whether or not we're successful in keeping them here, shockingly, really is incumbent on ICE. But if they are deporting people who are material witnesses to this kind of case before anyone can get their statements, it certainly cuts against them looking for the truth. The Harris County Sheriff's Office says that they weren't aware that this operation was going to be taking place that morning. is there typically a process where you guys are supposed to be notified about something like this if you go back to 2024 and all the way back into history of law enforcement in Harris County yes starting in 2025 they don't they don't inform any of us about it and when you think about it they're riding around in masks unmarked cars and they're just crashing into and attacking community members. It's the most dangerous behavior that I can really imagine and to continue to do it over and over regardless of loss of life, regardless of injuries or anything else and so it's it is not a safe time to be on the streets because of ICE. Are you seeing a lot of similarities between this case and the Salgado case? There are a lot of similarities between the in the tactics and the behavior of ICE, not least of which is that they got the wrong person. Again, every single time that they do this it appears that they've got the wrong person. Whether or not they actually had someone to get or they're just pulling over brown people, I don't know. But they have yet to catch someone that they say they were targeting. So there are a lot of similarities and it's just the brazenness of it quite frankly the attorney for the man that's in the hospital Miguel Para alleges that the suspect that ICE was looking for was not the other man that was in the vehicle if that's the case what questions or concerns does this raise for you for me regardless of whether that was the person that they were looking for or not they ran over they struck and ran over with a vehicle someone who didn't even have an alien number yet who had no history with ICE who ICE wasn't even looking for much like Lorenzo Salgado who was driving to work who had never gotten as much as a speeding ticket in over 20 years here and they shot and killed him this is continuous behavior that is only designed to put fear in a large percentage of our population So throughout the course of this investigation, if you are to find that there's probable cause criminal behavior, are you prepared to indict a federal agent in a Harris County courtroom? Absolutely. Absolutely. Just because you have a badge, just because you work for the federal government, you're not above the law. You're not above the laws of Harris County and the state of Texas, and my job, my sworn oath, is to uphold those laws and seek justice, and I intend to do it.