Harris County Grand Jury Indicts ICE Officer Over Houston Pedestrian Strike
Photo: CBS NewsA Harris County, Texas, grand jury indicted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, District Attorney Sean Teare announced Friday. Prosecutors say Morales, 33, struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez, 48, a Mexican national, with an unmarked vehicle in Houston on Oct. 10 during a pursuit. Parra-Hernandez had fled on foot. The second-degree felony carries two to 20 years in prison. Parra-Hernandez suffered a broken leg, underwent surgery and was still hospitalized Friday, according to Teare.
Teare said Parra-Hernandez has lived in Texas for more than 30 years without documentation, has no criminal record and had no deportation order. ICE said agents were pursuing Jose Mendoza-Cervantes. Teare said Mendoza-Cervantes has apparently been dead for nine years, and his daughter said he died in 2017. ICE said Parra-Hernandez stepped in front of the car and called the claim of intentional contact false. Teare said video contradicts ICE's account. Parra-Hernandez's attorney, Kim Bruno, said her client does not know Mendoza-Cervantes.
Right-leaning outlets Washington Examiner and Just the News lead with the indictment and the pedestrian or crash. The Examiner notes that Teare is a Democrat, quotes his statement that the evidence is as clear as any he has handled, and says video shows the officer "may have" acted deliberately. It also stresses that ICE denied intent and that Parra-Hernandez lacked legal status. Just the News frames the event as a crash with a fleeing suspect, relies on the Sheriff's Office account, and says ICE's target had four prior arrests. Left-leaning CBS News and HuffPost, carrying AP copy, say Morales is accused of hitting or ramming the man. They stress Parra-Hernandez's clean record and the video Teare presented. HuffPost adds that few federal officers have faced charges during the Trump crackdown. It also notes Teare's separate investigation into a July fatal shooting. Both sides report ICE's denial and the Mendoza-Cervantes discrepancy.
How the sides differ Right sources stress the DA's party, ICE's denial and the man's immigration status; left sources stress the video, the dead target and the rarity of charges.
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CBS News and HuffPost lead with the indictment and Teare's account, emphasizing the video, Parra-Hernandez's lack of a criminal record, the apparently dead ICE target and the rarity of charges against federal officers.
Not covering this story. None of the alternative or independent outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
Washington Examiner and Just the News report the indictment, noting Teare is a Democrat, ICE's denial, Parra-Hernandez's immigration status and the Sheriff's Office account, with Teare and attorney Kim Bruno quoted.