Harris County DA launches independent probe into ICE shooting death

The July 8 shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is already under a parallel investigation by Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare’s office, even as the case stays under federal control. Limited access to evidence has left county investigators with less than they would normally have in an officer-involved shooting.

Teare’s team has visited the Magnolia Park and east Houston scene and collected surveillance evidence. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is leading the federal case, and FBI Houston is separately reviewing whether there was an assault on a federal officer. The county will review any additional material that reaches the office and is urging witnesses, and anyone with photos or video, to come forward.

The shooting centered on 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national and longtime Houston-area construction worker. ICE says the encounter happened during a targeted enforcement operation involving a man with a final removal order. ICE says Araujo tried to evade arrest, rammed an ICE vehicle and refused commands to stop, prompting an officer to fire in self-defense.

His family pushed back hard on that account. Relatives and community leaders said Araujo was on his way to work, had picked up workers in his van and would have complied if he had known the men in unmarked vehicles were ICE officers. They also said he had lived in the United States for about 35 years, was a husband and father, and was in the process of obtaining a work permit through the legal process.

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said acting ICE director David Venturella told her Araujo was not the intended target. Garcia also said the officers were not wearing body cameras and that none of the vehicles had dashboard cameras recording the incident. DHS later said the officers were not issued body-worn cameras and said more than half of ICE field offices have since received them, with the rest expected within 60 days.

On Wednesday, family members and community leaders called for an independent review, and on Saturday more than 100 protesters gathered outside Houston City Hall with signs reading ICE out and Justice for Lorenzo. Four Democratic members of Congress from the Houston area said at a vigil that they would push for an independent probe. Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioner Lesley Briones backed funding for Teare’s effort, while Mayor John Whitmire said Houston police are not involved and the city will monitor the case. Mexico said it would pursue legal action against the United States over the killing, and Teare has been in contact with Minnesota prosecutors who handled earlier ICE-related shootings involving Renee Good and Alex Pretti.