ICE Officer Indicted on Second-Degree Assault Charge

A Harris County grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on a second-degree aggravated-assault charge over an Oct. 10 pursuit in Houston in which he allegedly struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez with an SUV. Prosecutors say surveillance and body-camera footage show Morales driving into Parra-Hernandez as he fled; he suffered serious leg and hip injuries and remains in rehabilitation and ICE custody. If convicted, Morales faces two to 20 years in prison, and several reports describe the indictment as the first of an ICE officer in Texas. ICE denies the strike was intentional and disputes local authorities’ jurisdiction over federal officers; District Attorney Sean Teare rejects that claim, and the U.S. attorney said his office was not consulted before the indictment. ICE said agents were seeking another man, but relatives say the alleged target died years ago, prosecutors say they found no evidence he was with Parra-Hernandez, and his attorney says he did not know the man.