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A Venezuelan man shot by an ICE officer in Austin has been charged with assaulting a federal officer. His account of the shooting differs from prosecutors’ allegations.
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Federal prosecutors filed the complaint against Wilber Rafael Garces Perez on 28 September. He appeared in court the following day, charged with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. The US attorney’s office says the offence carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if he is convicted. [1] [2]
The charge follows a traffic stop in Austin on 20 September. Prosecutors allege that Garces Perez drove away after being told to get out of his car, striking an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with a wing mirror. They say that, later in the pursuit, he tried to strike the same officer with his car, prompting the officer to fire. Garces Perez was shot in the upper back. [1] [2]
Garces Perez gave investigators a different account of the collisions and shooting. He acknowledged driving away but said an officers’ vehicle struck his car and spun it around before the officer fired. The officer who fired was not wearing a body camera; another officer lost sight of the pursuit. [1]
Austin police and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office are separately investigating the shooting. Prosecutors there said they had requested evidence and an interview with the officer who fired. [9]
10 listed sources · explore evidence, limitations and provenance.
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