An ICE officer has been charged after striking a man with a car in Houston – Spectrum News

An ICE officer has been charged after striking a man with a car in Houston  Spectrum News

The officer accused of intentionally ramming his car into a Mexican construction worker in Houston was charged Friday with aggravated assault. HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer accused of intentionally ramming his car into a Mexican construction worker in Houston was charged Friday with aggravated assault, prosecutors said. The Harris County District Attorney's office says Mario Alberto Morales was behind the wheel of an unmarked black vehicle on Oct. 10 when it struck Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, who was running away. Parra Hernandez was later placed in custody with a broken leg. Few federal officers during President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown have faced criminal charges for their actions in the field, although some encounters have come under investigation.

The case in Houston was brought by District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, who is also investigating the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder in July that set off protests in the nation’s fourth-largest city. ICE has said Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the car and called accusations that the officer intentionally struck him false and “reckless.” It called the indictment charging Morales with second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon “a political stunt” and said local officials do not have the authority to investigate federal officers acting in the course of their duties. “Allegations that ICE