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 allegations that the officer intentionally struck him as “reckless and false.”But Teare has said surveillance footage contradicts the agency’s account.Surveillance 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 October 23.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 July 7.An ICE officer, Gregory Feathers, has been accused of firing at the vehicle Salgado Araujo was driving on his way to work in Houston, Texas.Federal authorities said the officer acted in self-defense, a claim the surviving passengers in the vehicle dispute.