Texas prosecutors charge man shot by ICE officer

Federal prosecutors in Texas charged Wilber Rafael Garces Perez with one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot him during a traffic stop in Austin on Sept. 20. The charge is based on allegations in a criminal complaint; Garces Perez disputes the government’s account of how the encounter unfolded. The complaint alleges ICE officers stopped Garces Perez after checking his identity and finding that an immigration judge had issued a final order of removal. After he provided his driver’s license, officers ordered him to put the car in park and get out. According to the filing, they repeated instructions in Spanish, but he closed the window and drove away. The complaint says the driver’s-side mirror struck one officer in the torso as the car pulled away. An affidavit supporting the charge describes an account from one of the two officers involved. It alleges that after a pursuit, Garces Perez tried to hit an officer with his car, prompting the other officer to fire and wound him. The filing’s account does not include an interview with the officer who fired.