ICE Officer Charged After Houston Car Strike; Agency's Account Disputed

A Mexican construction worker in Houston was struck by a vehicle and left with a broken leg after a federal immigration operation, and the officer behind the wheel now faces felony charges. Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, was running from an unmarked black vehicle on Oct. 10 when he was hit. He was later taken into custody.

Harris County prosecutors charged Mario Alberto Morales, an officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Friday. The District Attorney's office said Morales was driving the vehicle that struck Parra Hernandez. The case is being handled by District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat.

ICE has said Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the car and called claims that the officer struck him intentionally false and reckless. Teare has said the surveillance footage contradicts that account. The video shows a Jeep Cherokee crossing a median and moving toward Parra Hernandez as he runs. The moment of impact is blocked by another vehicle, but the footage shows the SUV close to him and then shows Parra Hernandez on the ground.

Questions also surround who ICE was looking for that day. The agency released a photo of Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, saying he was the target of the operation and entered a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. Family members of Parra Hernandez told FIEL, a Houston immigrant rights group, they had never heard of him. FIEL said Mendoza-Cervantes' daughter told the group her father died in 2017 and that his real name was Jose Hector Jimenez. Teare's office has said its investigation has not found the two men were in a vehicle together. ICE has not responded to the claim that the suspect was dead for nearly a decade.

Parra Hernandez has lived in the United States for more than 30 years and was in the country without authorization, according to FIEL, which has worked with his family. ICE has not responded to a request for comment about the indictment.

Teare has said the Department of Homeland Security did not cooperate with his investigators and accused ICE of destroying evidence either intentionally or through gross negligence. He said the officer driving the SUV left the scene before the vehicle could be impounded. Teare is also investigating the fatal July shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, who was shot in his van by an ICE officer. DHS said Araujo had weaponized his vehicle and that the officer fired in self-defense, an account disputed by other passengers. A witness to that shooting was seen entering a courthouse area reserved for grand jury proceedings in September.