Credit: Original reporting and video by NBC News.
Austin police have released body camera video showing the moments after an ICE officer shot a DoorDash driver in Texas. The footage is drawing renewed attention to the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including the fact that the ICE officer involved was not wearing an issued body camera, according to two DHS officials.
The Texas case comes as authorities in Evanston, Illinois, investigate a separate ICE encounter involving a U.S. citizen who was mistakenly targeted and injured. Both incidents occurred on the same Sunday, and both are now under investigation.
Austin footage shows the aftermath of the shooting
The newly released video was recorded by an off duty Austin Police Department officer who arrived at the scene. It was not recorded by the ICE officer who fired the shots.
In the footage, officers remove the injured man from a blue vehicle, direct him to get out, and place him in handcuffs. The video shows local officers providing assistance in the immediate aftermath as multiple law enforcement personnel stand nearby.
According to DHS officials, the ICE officer involved in the shooting had been issued a body camera but was not wearing it. That distinction is central to the investigation, because the released footage begins after the shooting and does not show what led up to it.
Austin officials said they are still working to establish the events that preceded the gunfire. A separate, brief cellphone recording from a local police officer captured the sound of three gunshots, but investigators said they had not yet determined whether the shooting was justified.
Driver returned to ICE detention after hospital treatment
The man who was shot was taken to the hospital and later returned to ICE detention. His lawyer said he reported being unable to move the left side of his body and that the bullet remained lodged in his back.
The lawyer also said that a judge blocked his deportation. The shooting prompted protests across Austin, including a student walkout at a nearby school.
Austin police and city officials released the footage as part of what they described as an effort to prioritize transparency while the investigation remains ongoing. Local police departments are often the first agencies called to scenes involving federal officers, and in this case Austin police are conducting their own inquiry into the ICE shooting.
Evanston police investigate mistaken-identity ICE encounter
In the separate Illinois incident, video showed a man on the ground outside Chicago as officers stood over him and one appeared to pin him down. The man could be heard saying repeatedly that he was a U.S. citizen.
Evanston police confirmed that the man was, in fact, an American citizen. He was taken to the hospital with injuries to his head, neck, and teeth.
Police said ICE officers were attempting to identify someone who resembled the person they were seeking. The encounter became a case of mistaken identity, according to ICE and local police.
A witness who recorded the confrontation said the scene was frightening, particularly for Hispanic residents who fear they could be stopped even if they are U.S. citizens.
DHS response to the Illinois encounter
DHS said the individual was given lawful commands but did not cooperate and refused to identify himself. The department said ICE officers relied on their training and left after the individual eventually identified himself.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss criticized the encounter and said residents had reported increased ICE activity in the city for months. He described the activity as escalating and accused ICE of racial profiling and intimidating the community.
The two incidents involve different circumstances. The Austin case centers on a shooting of a DoorDash driver and the absence of body camera footage from the ICE officer involved. The Evanston case concerns a U.S. citizen injured after ICE officers allegedly mistook him for someone else.
What remains unresolved
Investigators in Austin have not said what prompted the shooting or reached a conclusion about whether the use of force was justified. The body camera video released by Austin police documents what happened afterward, but it does not answer the central question of what occurred before the shots were fired.
In Evanston, local police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the mistaken-identity encounter and the injuries suffered by the U.S. citizen. The cases have intensified scrutiny of ICE operations, officer accountability, and the role local agencies play when federal enforcement actions result in injuries.
For continuing coverage of this and other national stories, visit NBC News.
Be the first to comment