Stevens says he fired after Martinez's car struck Agent Sosa
HSI supervisory special agent who fired the shots, in a written statement to investigators
“Upon observing the vehicle strike SA Sosa causing him to fall onto the hood of the vehicle and driving through the scene, with SA Sosa clinging to the vehicle's hood, I discharged my service issued handgun firing through the open driver's side window striking the driver multiple times.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Newsweek quotes Stevens's own written statement to investigators, in which he says he saw the car strike Sosa and knock him onto the hood before firing, and says he feared for the safety of Sosa, himself, other officers and pedestrians, noting recent vehicle-ramming attacks were on his mind.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The statement was given to investigators as part of the review of the shooting.
After the quotation
Released body-camera footage does not show the front of the vehicle or whether it struck Sosa, leaving that account unverified by the footage that has been made public.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Was HSI Special Agent Jack Stevens justified in fatally shooting Ruben Ray Martinez?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case's fixed reference point is whether Stevens's use of deadly force was justified. His own account directly asserts the shooting was a justified response to an imminent threat, so it defends the conduct under scrutiny rather than merely disputing how the incident has been characterized.
- Recorded on
- Published here
Was HSI Special Agent Jack Stevens justified in fatally shooting Ruben Ray Martinez?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“We stand by the grand jury's unanimous decision that found no criminality.”Read statement
“He also told us unequivocally that Ruben did not hit anyone.”Read statement