Newly released surveillance footage is shedding additional light on the chaotic moments leading up to an ICE officer shooting a Venezuelan migrant in Austin, Texas — and the video appears to challenge portions of the account provided by the man’s attorney.
The footage, authenticated by the Department of Homeland Security, shows at least two federal law enforcement vehicles pursuing a speeding car driven by 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. The government vehicles can be seen using flashing emergency lights while their sirens are audible during the pursuit.
The footage was recorded shortly before an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot Garces Perez on September 20. The Venezuelan man survived and was subsequently taken into federal immigration custody as investigations into the shooting continue.
The video does not provide a complete picture of the encounter. It does not show the actual moment the officer fired his weapon, nor does it definitively establish what happened during every second of the pursuit.
