Key Takeaways
- Houston ICE agent Mario Alberto Morales struck Miguel Parra Hernández with his vehicle on Oct. 10, then said, “Yeah, you got hit with a car, bro,” according to surveillance footage.
- Morales told 911 that Hernández hit his vehicle, while the victim told authorities he fled because the agent’s mask frightened him.
- A grand jury indicted Morales on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a charge carrying two to 20 years in prison.
New surveillance video shows a Houston ICE agent showing no remorse after hitting a male pedestrian.
In a video posted by TMZ, ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales can be heard in the video saying, “Yeah, you got hit with a car, bro,” after striking a Mexican man named Miguel Parra Hernández on Oct. 10. A shocked Hernández was heard shouting, "You ran over me!” in Spanish. Morales would go on to call 911 and claim that the victim hit his vehicle.
Morales allegedly gave an "unclear and vague" explanation for why he didn't veer to avoid hitting the man, but Parra Hernández later informed authorities that he started running away from Morales because he was afraid after the ICE agent put on his mask.
"I genuinely hope that holding an ICE agent accountable for harming a community member will communicate to our community at large that we do not believe in what they’re doing and the tactics that they’re using,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told the Houston Chronicle.
According to BBC, Parra Hernandez, 48, has lived in Houston for more than thirty years without documentation but did not have a criminal history nor a deportation order. Following the incident, Morales was indicted by a grand jury for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and faces between two to twenty years in prison.
