Investigation into Shooting Death of Colombian Man by ICE Officer Raises Civil Rights Concerns
The shooting death of a Colombian man in Maine by a federal immigration officer is not under a civil rights investigation by the FBI, according to sources. The incident involving Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero has raised questions about the use of force by ICE officers during immigration enforcement operations across the country. The shooting, captured on surveillance videos, occurred when Guerrero allegedly tried to flee in his vehicle. The agent involved has a history of abusive behavior, and the shooting has sparked concerns about the officer's actions.
The FBI usually leads criminal civil rights investigations in cases like this, but in this instance, the DHS Office of the Inspector General and the Maine attorney general's office are handling the investigation. Guerrero's partner, Karolina Rojas Alvarez, has been interviewed by the Maine attorney general's office, but no federal agencies have contacted her or her attorney. Guerrero was not the intended target of the operation, and ICE officers were not wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting.
The DHS OIG routinely reviews allegations involving DHS employees or contractors who are alleged to have deprived individuals of their Constitutional rights. The inspector general's office can conduct criminal and administrative investigations and make referrals to U.S. attorney offices. The FBI's absence from investigating ICE-related shootings that raise civil rights concerns has been noted in previous cases, where the Civil Rights Division was ordered to stand down, and the FBI treated the investigations as assault on a federal officer cases.
The FBI's involvement in cases like the ICE shooting in Maine is crucial due to the national public interest and the color-of-law violation resulting in death. The Civil Rights Division's criminal section typically manages such cases, coordinating with the local U.S. attorney's office. The FBI has specialized squads to handle civil rights criminal cases, and while not all investigations lead to criminal charges, the threshold for opening a case is relatively low. The shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero continues to raise questions about the use of force by federal immigration officers and the oversight of such incidents.