ICE officer who struck man with vehicle indicted for aggravated assault

ICE officer who struck man with vehicle indicted for aggravated assault.

Key points

• Officer Mario Alberto Morales was driving a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee on Oct.
• 8, an officer shot Oscar Belgal, 28, in New York City's Marble Hill neighborhood as he sat in his car with his 5-year-old son in the back seat.
• As he drove his construction crew to a job site, in July, an ICE officer in Houston's East End shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52.
• Teare remarked Morales was hired by ICE in August 2025 as part of its surge into Democrat-run cities.
• 30 published footage from Morales' body camera and a surveillance video, along with audio from Morales' call to 911.

ICE officer who struck man with vehicle indicted for aggravated assault. Jeanine Santucci, María Luisa Paúl USA TODAY.

In practice, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been indicted by a Texas grand jury after striking a man with his vehicle in Houston earlier this month, prosecutors remarked.

Officer Mario Alberto Morales was driving a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee on Oct. 10 at regarding 7: 30 a.m. When he initiated a stop on a vehicle driven by Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a Mexican national who has been living in the United States for 30 years, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare stated at a news conference on Oct. 30.

Parra-Hernandez and another occupant fled on foot, and video footage indicated Morales striking Parra-Hernandez with his vehicle, Teare stated.

"As you can clearly see, Morales aggressively steered his vehicle into Parra-Hernandez. Not only did he hit Mr. Hernandez, he ran over both of his legs, leaving him seriously injured and hospitalized to this day, " Teare remarked, adding that Parra-Hernandez is recovering in a rehabilitation facility. Previously: Texas deputies investigate after ICE vehicle strikes, hospitalizes man.

Morales was indicted on a count of second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Teare remarked. He could face between 2 and 20 years in prison if convicted. The officer is not yet in custody, Teare remarked. USA TODAY has reached out to an attorney representing Morales.

In an official note to USA TODAY, a spokesperson for ICE called the indictment a "political stunt, " and remarked local administration doesn't have the authority to investigate the case.

"Allegations that ICE struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez intentionally are RECKLESS and FALSE. The men and women of ICE are entrusted with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct, " the spokesperson remarked. What happened in ICE crash? Video, 911 audio published.

Prosecutors on Oct. 30 published footage from Morales' body camera and a surveillance video, along with audio from Morales' call to 911.

For context, the encounter unfolded the morning of Oct. 10 along a commercial stretch of Clay Road in northwest Harris County. When they moved to pull it over, two men jumped out and ran, surveillance video demonstrates, ICE officers had been trailing a white pickup truck and. "What happened next shocked our entire community, " Teare remarked.

For context, the video demonstrates Morales' SUV driving over a median in pursuit of a man running on foot. "I've got a runner, " he notes on the body camera footage.

Notably, the SUV drives into a parking area and closes in on the man running. The view of the impact is blocked by a truck parked there. Just afterward, Parra-Hernandez can be heard moaning and is seen lying on the ground as Morales gets out of the SUV. In the 911 audio, Morales tells a dispatcher, "I tried to get around him and he hit my car."

Two men Morales had detained earlier were sitting handcuffed in the back of the Jeep, authorities stated. Parra Hernandez's leg was broken in three places, and he was taken to a hospital in ICE custody.

ICE remarked Parra Hernandez "ran in front of the vehicle, " and called claims that he was hit on purpose reckless and false.

Teare remarked the officer drove the Jeep away before it could be impounded, erasing crash data stored in the vehicle. ICE has additionally begun deporting witnesses in the case, Teare stated on Oct. 30.

Teare remarked Morales was hired by ICE in August 2025 as part of its surge into Democrat-run cities. The district attorney remarked he had serious worries regarding the qualifications of ICE hires and how much training they have been given.

"I've reviewed thousands of job applications and resumes for law enforcement officers from around this state and I'm not familiar with a single agency that would've hired this person based on his past, " he remarked of Morales.

Teare remarked he hopes the indictment "sends a loud and clear message to every ICE officer who feels they have a free pass to terrorize our streets. The time to stop is now. And if you don't, you will be held accountable."

Notably, the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions regarding the district attorney's accusations around the investigation. Victim struck by ICE had no criminal history, prosecutor notes.

Parra-Hernandez, 48, is an unauthorized immigrant in the United States from Mexico and had no criminal history, deportation order or any immigration proceedings at the time of the crash, Teare remarked.

Parra-Hernandez is a construction worker who was on his way to work that morning, according to FIEL Houston, an immigrant advocacy group.

After the incident, ICE remarked its officers had been looking for a different man, whom the agency described as a "public safety threat, " and that officers had seen him secure into the truck.

For context, the man ICE remarked they were looking for "has apparently been dead for nine years, " Teare stated on Oct. 30. Multiple ICE operations have led to injury and death.

Meanwhile, the Houston case is not the first in which what ICE describes as a targeted enforcement operation has concluded in serious injury or death.

Two days earlier, on Oct. 8, an officer shot Oscar Belgal, 28, in New York City's Marble Hill neighborhood as he sat in his car with his 5-year-old son in the back seat. At least one officer fired seven rounds after Belgal began pulling forward, hitting Belgal below his left ear. The boy was not hurt.

As he drove his construction crew to a job site, in July, an ICE officer in Houston's East End shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52. The agency remarked he tried to run over an officer – an account his family and the men in his van dispute. DHS afterwards acknowledged he was not the man officers were looking for, saying only that he resembled their target.

After video indicated the agent steering into her car rather than the other way around, in Chicago last year, federal prosecutors dropped charges against Marimar Martinez, a U.S. Citizen shot five times by a Border Patrol agent. That agent, too, was accused of driving his vehicle away before it could be examined, taking it to Maine.

In practice, a federal judge in Chicago separately discovered the government's accounts of its agents' apply of force against protesters and journalists not credible.

And in Minneapolis, the Justice Department abandoned charges against two Venezuelan men after ICE acknowledged its officers had lied under oath regarding the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. The officer who fired, Christian Castro, now faces state assault charges. SMS Facebook Twitter Email. Share your feedback to support improve our site! Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, ICE officer who struck man with vehicle indicted for aggravated assault is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.