Wilber Rafael Garces Perez
Role at the time: Person shot by the ICE officer, speaking by phone from immigration custody
Condemned
Statement summary
Garces Perez, speaking by phone at a news conference from ICE custody, said an unmarked SUV struck his car twice before he realized his pursuers were immigration officers, that he asked an agent if he could stop somewhere safer than under a freeway overpass, and that he was shot in the back after the agent refused.
“He asked officers if he could stop somewhere safer than in traffic under the freeway; he said an agent refused, then he felt one shot to his back.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Texas Tribune: Garces Perez says he tried to pull over before ICE shot himParagraphs describing Garces Perez's account of the pursuit and shooting, his attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch's remarks, his immigration history, and his medical condition.
Why we used this label
His account describes attempting to find a safe place to stop, being refused, and then being shot without describing any threatening conduct on his part. This directly disputes that the shooting was justified, rather than merely disputing how it has been characterized by others.