Texas Grand Jury Indicts ICE Officer Accused of Running Over Fleeing Worker in Houston

A grand jury in the US state of Texas has indicted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer accused of deliberately running over a Mexican construction worker during an immigration operation in Houston this month.

The officer, Mario Alberto Morales, faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon over the 10 October incident. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced the indictment on Friday.

Criminal charges against federal immigration officers have been rare during President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, although several encounters involving officers have prompted investigations.

Morales is accused of striking 48-year-old Miguel Parra-Hernandez, an immigrant who has lived in Harris County for more than 30 years. Teare said Parra-Hernandez had no criminal record.

Parra-Hernandez was running away from federal agents when an unmarked black Jeep Cherokee struck him in a parking lot near Clay Road and Highway 6, according to investigators. He suffered multiple fractures to his right leg and an ankle injury and required surgery.

The indictment follows a dispute between local prosecutors and federal authorities over what happened. ICE has maintained that Parra-Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, dismissing the allegation that the officer intentionally struck him as reckless and false.

But Teare has said surveillance footage contradicts the agency's account. The footage shows the SUV crossing a median and pursuing Parra-Hernandez as he runs away. Although another vehicle obscures the moment of impact, the footage shows the man on the ground moments later.

Authorities also released body-camera footage on Friday. In the recording, Morales can be heard acknowledging that he struck Parra-Hernandez with his vehicle.

Teare also accused federal authorities of failing to cooperate with the investigation, including by removing the Jeep before local investigators could examine it for potential evidence. A search warrant obtained by local media shows investigators had not been granted access to the vehicle as of 23 October.

The case has also raised questions about the operation's intended target. ICE said agents were searching for a man identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, whom they believed to be travelling with Parra-Hernandez. But Mendoza-Cervantes's daughter told The New York Times that her father died in 2017. Parra-Hernandez's family has disputed that the two men knew each other.

The Morales indictment comes as the Harris County District Attorney's Office continues investigating the fatal shooting of another Mexican national, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, on 7 July. An ICE officer, Gregory Feathers, has been accused of firing at the vehicle Salgado Araujo was driving on his way to work in Houston. Federal authorities said the officer acted in self-defence, a claim the surviving passengers in the vehicle dispute.