DHS calls the encounter an ambush
Federal department responsible for Border Patrol and immigration enforcement
“Border Patrol law enforcement officers were ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles.”
Source and context
Original text
About this source
Official Illinois Accountability Commission investigation brief based on available body-camera and surveillance material, vehicle photographs, witness interviews, court records and public reporting. It concluded there was reasonable cause for further investigation; it is not a criminal or civil judgment.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
DHS issued its account shortly after the Brighton Park shooting.
After the quotation
Later video, ballistics evidence and witness accounts were cited by Martinez’s lawyers and state investigators to dispute that account.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Was Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum justified in shooting Marimar Martinez?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The department’s account supplies the asserted justification for the agents’ use of force.
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- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Marimar Martinez
Was Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum justified in shooting Marimar Martinez?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“Whether it be the apartment raids in South Shore, the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park, or the murder of Silverio Villegas González, it’s been proven that ICE does NOT keep us safe - they are designed to intimidate communities of color and deport as many people as possible.”Read statement
Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus
“The findings of the Illinois Accountability Commission are clear: a documented pattern of ICE, Border Patrol and federal agents making discriminatory arrests based on race and ethnicity, acting recklessly, endangering the lives of community members and retaliating against rapid responders and community members – not only in the case of Villegas González, but also in the shooting of Marimar Martinez.”Read statement
Illinois Accountability Commission
“Agent Charles Exum shot an unarmed civilian without apparent justification.”Read statement