By Renee Hickman
Feb 11 (Reuters) – A Chicago woman shot multiple times by a Border Patrol agent plans to sue the agent and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after a trove of evidence was released that casts doubt on the Trump administration’s account of the incident, her lawyers said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The agent, Charles Exum, was placed on administrative leave after the shooting, a US Customs and Border Protection spokesman told Reuters, but did not respond to questions about the timing.
Shortly after the Oct. 4 shooting, DHS, which oversees the border patrol, said Marimar Martinez, 31, had run the agents over in her car. But the footage suggested the agents may have hit her vehicle themselves.
The statement echoed others from DHS after violent encounters involving federal agents that portrayed those shot as aggressors and defended the agents’ use of lethal force.
A Reuters analysis of such incidents showed that video and other evidence repeatedly contradicted those narratives.
Video, text messages, emails and other records were released by the US Attorney’s Office in Chicago late Tuesday after a district court judge said the government had shown “zero concern” for Martinez’s reputation even after the government dropped the case in November.
Martinez, a Montessori school teacher in Chicago, was following the agents to alert residents of their presence when the crash occurred. In the bodycam video released Tuesday, one agent could be heard saying “do something, bitch” shortly before the vehicles made contact.
An agent in the vehicle, driven by Exum and bearing an Uber carshare sign, said they were being boxed. “It’s time to be aggressive,” the agent said, adding, “we’re going to make contact.”
After the crash, Exum exited the vehicle and fired five shots. FBI photos in the records release showed several bullet holes in the windshield of Martinez’s vehicle and a shattered rear passenger window. The inside of the vehicle was covered in blood.
Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, said Wednesday that Exum was under criminal investigation by the US Attorney’s office in South Bend, Indiana.
The US Attorney’s office in South Bend did not respond to a request for comment. The US Attorney’s office in Chicago declined to comment.
After the shooting, Martinez drove away, and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. DHS released a statement after the shooting saying Martinez had “pushed” the border patrol vehicle, and that an agent had fired in self-defense.
Martinez was indicted on charges of obstructing a federal officer. Months after the charges were dismissed, a DHS statement branding her a “domestic terrorist” remained online.
Martinez said she sought the release of the records after the fatal shootings by federal immigration agents of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month and to clear her name.
AGENT BRAGGED ABOUT MARKSMANSHIP
In the bodycam footage, the agents, including Exum, could be seen inside a Border Patrol vehicle driving by as protesters honked their horns outside.
In the moments before the crash, just after an agent said they would make contact, the video showed Exum, on the bike, turning the steering wheel sharply to the left.
“Be advised that we have been hit, hit,” the bodycam-wearing agent radioed.
Exum then opened the door with his weapon drawn.
During Martinez’s court case, evidence was shared that Exum had driven the vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe, back to his base in Maine, and that repairs were made by a Customs and Border Protection mechanic before the defendants could examine it.
Also released in court were text messages from Exum after the shooting, including one in which he bragged about his firing in a group chat with other agents. “I shot 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put this in your book, boys,” he wrote.
Records released Tuesday show Exum exchanging a number of additional messages with colleagues and family members, many of which had a celebratory tone.
One person, whom Exum identified in a text to a family member as “the guy from Vermont,” called him “a legend among agents.”
“Good on me when I see you in training,” the person wrote.
The “compliment,” Exum told his family member, made him “feel good.”
The records released Tuesday also included an email sent the afternoon of the shooting by Border Patrol officer Gregory Bovino, who was demoted from his post as commanding general, overseeing operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, following Pretti’s death.
Bovino thanked Exum for his “outstanding service” in Chicago and suggested the agent postpone his retirement. “You have a lot to do!” he wrote.
(Reporting by Renee Hickman; Editing by Emily Schmall)