"The contradictory orders are confusing and may have been a strong influence. The speed is slow and doesn't appear threatening. Could the officer have moved away? At worst, all he has to do is step aside. We call it officer-created jeopardy."
"His car moved forward very slowly in the moments before Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jack C. Stevens fired three shots into Martinez's blue Ford sedan. The footage does not show Martinez speeding up rapidly or appearing to target a second Homeland Security Investigations agent, Hector Sosa."
"Sosa told investigators that Martinez's car struck his legs, causing him to fall over the hood before Stevens opened fire. It is not clear from the nighttime footage whether the slow-moving car actually hit Sosa. Footage from a nearby business shows the hood of the Ford. But the video is grainy and skips through some portions and does not definitively show whether there is a figure on top of the hood."
Investigative footage released by Texas Department of Public Safety challenges an ICE spokesperson's account of the fatal March 15 shooting of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island. The video shows Martinez's blue Ford sedan moving very slowly before federal agent Jack C. Stevens fired three shots. Martinez received conflicting instructions from multiple law enforcement agencies at the scene of a previous accident. While agent Hector Sosa claimed Martinez's car struck his legs, the grainy nighttime footage does not clearly show contact or Martinez speeding up to target anyone. Martinez had alcohol and marijuana in his system. Criminology professor Geoffrey P. Alpert identified the chaotic scene as creating "officer-created jeopardy," noting contradictory orders and slow vehicle speed did not appear threatening.
#police-shooting-investigation #ice-accountability #use-of-force #video-evidence #law-enforcement-procedures
Read at The Washington Post
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