An ICE officer has been charged after striking a man with a car in 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 with a deadly weapon, 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 Donald 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 did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment about the indictment charging Morales.

ICE has said Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the car and called accusations that the officer intentionally struck him false and “reckless.” Teare has said the surveillance footage clearly contradicts the ICE account.

In the video, a Jeep Cherokee speeds over a median and drives toward Parra Hernandez as he runs away. The video does not show the car hitting him — that view is blocked by another vehicle — but it shows the SUV inches away from him. The footage then shows Parra Hernandez on the ground.

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.

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 .

This story has been updated with additional information.

检察官称，一名美国移民和海关执法局官员被控在休斯顿故意驾车撞向一名墨西哥建筑工人，周五他被控以致命武器进行严重袭击。

哈里斯县地方检察官办公室称，10月10日，马里奥·阿尔贝托·莫拉莱斯驾驶一辆未标明身份的黑色车辆撞倒了48岁的米格尔·帕拉·埃尔南德斯，当时帕拉·埃尔南德斯正在逃跑。帕拉·埃尔南德斯随后被警方拘留，腿部骨折。

在唐纳德·特朗普总统的移民打击行动中，很少有联邦官员因其在现场的行为而面临刑事指控，尽管一些执法行动受到了调查。

休斯顿的这起案件由民主党籍地方检察官肖恩·蒂尔提起，他同时也在调查7月份一名墨西哥裔房屋建筑商遭枪击身亡的案件，该案引发了美国第四大城市休斯顿的抗议活动。

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）尚未对有关莫拉莱斯起诉书的置评请求作出回应。

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）称，帕拉·埃尔南德斯走到车前，并称有关警官故意撞他的指控不实且“鲁莽”。蒂尔则表示，监控录像与ICE的说法明显相悖。

视频中，一辆吉普切诺基高速越过中央隔离带，朝正在逃跑的帕拉·埃尔南德斯驶去。视频没有拍到车辆撞击他的画面——因为该画面被另一辆车遮挡——但显示这辆SUV距离他只有几英寸。随后，画面显示帕拉·埃尔南德斯倒在了地上。

ICE声明的其他方面也受到了质疑。

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）公布了另一名男子何塞·门多萨-塞万提斯（Jose Mendoza-Cervantes）的照片，称他是当天行动的目标，并被目击与帕拉·埃尔南德斯（Parra Hernandez）一同进入一辆车内。帕拉·埃尔南德斯的家人表示从未听说过此人。休斯顿移民权益组织FIEL称，门多萨-塞万提斯的女儿告诉他们，她的父亲已于2017年去世。她还表示，门多萨-塞万提斯的真名是何塞·赫克托·希门尼斯（Jose Hector Jimenez）。

蒂尔的办公室还表示，他们的调查并未发现帕拉·埃尔南德斯和美国移民及海关执法局认定的门多萨-塞万提斯曾同乘一辆车，这与美国移民及海关执法局的声明相反。

对于他们一直在寻找的嫌疑人已经死亡近十年的说法，美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）尚未作出回应。

帕拉·埃尔南德斯已经在该国生活了30多年。据与他的家人合作的FIEL组织称，他此前在美国非法居住。

蒂尔表示，负责监管美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）的国土安全部没有配合他的调查人员，并指责ICE“故意或严重疏忽”销毁证据。他还说，撞倒帕拉·埃尔南德斯的那名ICE警官在车辆被扣押前逃离了现场。

7月，蒂尔表示，在一名移民及海关执法局（ICE）官员开枪打死52岁的洛伦佐·萨尔加多·阿劳霍后，国土安全部也无视了他索要信息的请求。国土安全部称，萨尔加多·阿劳霍在枪击事件发生前“将车辆改装成武器”，一名官员开枪是出于自卫。但车上其他乘客对这一说法提出异议。

蒂尔尚未给出其办公室何时完成对枪击事件调查的时间表。9月份，有人看到一名枪击事件目击者进入了法院内专门用于大陪审团审理的区域。

本文已更新，添加了更多信息。