Attorney Says ICE Shooting Victim Remains Gravely Ill With Bullet Lodged in Body

Q: Why was the officer's issued body camera missing during such a critical law enforcement pursuit?

It is not publicly known why the ICE officer who fired was not wearing his issued body camera. DHS officials have confirmed that the officer had been issued a camera but was not wearing it during the Austin operation. Multiple reports, including NBC News and CBS reporting cited in the background material, say officials could not explain the omission. So far, no agency has publicly said whether it was a policy violation, a training lapse, an equipment issue, or an individual decision. What is known is that another ICE officer in the same vehicle was wearing a body camera, but that footage captured only part of the encounter and not the shooting itself. Austin police have also said there remains a 10- to 15-minute gap between the initial stop and the gunfire, which investigators are still trying to reconstruct with surveillance, dashcam, and public video. The absence of the shooter’s body camera footage is especially significant because ICE policy requires cameras to be activated during routine enforcement activities such as arrests and emergency responses. The case is now under review by federal investigators, including Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, while local authorities and outside officials continue pressing for the full preservation and release of evidence. In short, the camera was missing from the critical moment because the officer was not wearing it, and authorities have not yet provided a verified reason why.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 23

Katie Lincoln Goldfinch said Wednesday that 28-year-old Venezuelan migrant Wilber Rafael Garces Perez is being held in isolation in an ICE infirmary, gravely ill with a bullet still lodged in his body.
Goldfinch demanded that ICE restore his communication privileges and return him to a hospital, saying he needs proper medical care after being shot during an attempted arrest in Austin over the weekend.
New surveillance footage authenticated by DHS shows federal vehicles with sirens chasing Garces Perez's speeding car before the shooting, while Austin police bodycam shows officers helping him from the vehicle after he was wounded.
Those videos undercut parts of Goldfinch's account that officers in an unmarked vehicle ran him off the road and pulled him from the car, though she says he was sideswiped and shot in the back of the neck.
The shooting has intensified political backlash in Austin, with Rep. Greg Casar visiting the detention facility and accusing ICE of withholding evidence as Democratic critics call the agency rogue.