A Texas prosecutor is considering felony assault charges for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who allegedly ran over a man, breaking his leg in multiple places. The incident occurred on Saturday morning in west Houston following an attempted traffic stop.
Sean Teare, the district attorney for Harris County, said video footage shows the officer's unmarked SUV veering into the man as he ran across an empty car park. Mr Teare stated that this footage could support a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The injured man, Miguel Parra-Hernandez, is currently under ICE supervision at a Houston hospital with serious hip and leg injuries. His representatives indicate he will require multiple surgeries. ICE has acknowledged that Mr Parra-Hernandez was not the intended target of the traffic stop.
Mr Teare also reported that ICE is refusing to cooperate with the investigation and denied requests for access to information from the vehicle's data recorder. He stated that an ICE agent drove the vehicle away from the scene while a search warrant was being drafted.