ICE says officer fired over a public-safety threat
U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementFederal immigration-enforcement agency
ICE said the officer fired because Guerrero tried to flee and the officer feared for public safety.
“The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety an officer discharged his weapon.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was the ICE officer justified in fatally shooting Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero?
On July 13, 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during an attempted vehicle stop at Pool and Hill streets in Biddeford, Maine. ICE said Guerrero's vehicle attempted to flee and that the officer fired because he feared for public safety; Maine's initial account said the vehicle moved in the officer's direction. A nearby resident said he heard Guerrero say he had tried to stop and heard the officer say Guerrero tried to hit him. Security cameras recorded gunfire and portions of the aftermath but do not continuously show the vehicle's path at the moment of firing, and the agents reportedly lacked activated body cameras. The Associated Press and relatives identified the shooter as David Brouillette, though DHS has not confirmed his identity. In late September 2026, the Maine attorney general's office declined to comment on its investigation and had announced no finding. The dispute is whether Guerrero's vehicle posed an imminent threat when the officer fired.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Reports ICE's stated justification, that Guerrero was not the operation's target, the absence of activated body-camera footage, witness Daniel Boucher's account and nearby Ring-camera evidence. The article does not itself resolve the vehicle's path when shots were fired.
Before the quotation
ICE agents attempted to stop the vehicle during an enforcement operation in Biddeford.
After the quotation
The agency’s preliminary account did not identify the officer or describe the vehicle’s precise trajectory at the instant shots were fired.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The agency offers fear for public safety as the justification for the fatal shooting.
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- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero
More from this case
Read the full caseBlumenthal co-signs letter citing Durán Guerrero's death as showing inadequate ICE use-of-force training
“On July 13, 2026, an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine fatally shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old father, in his car after agents rammed his vehicle and fired multiple rounds through it while executing a warrant for someone else. Mr. Durán Guerrero was not the target of the operation and was authorized to work in the United States. ... These killings, combined with the whistleblower's account of corners cut on both vetting and training, make clear that officers hired during the surge did not receive adequate instruction in de-escalation, use-of-force standards, and vehicle-stop protocols before being sent into communities with the authority to use deadly force.”Read statement
Pingree criticizes body-camera failures after Duran Guerrero's killing
“Our demands are simple: Every immigration enforcement officer must have a working body camera, must be properly trained on how to use it, and be held accountable when that camera isn’t used.”Read statement
Richard Blumenthal says Durán Guerrero was murdered
“State and local authorities have been stymied and stopped in their effort to investigate. ICE has withheld and concealed evidence. The failure to investigate is obvious and deeply wrong and shameful for the federal government. On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father and husband, was shot and killed by ICE agents while on his way to work in Houston. And just five days later, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was murdered in Maine, leaving behind a wife and three-year-old daughter.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "ICE says officer fired over a public-safety threat". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1498-ice-said-the-officer-fired-because-guerrero-tried