Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has announced his office will conduct a parallel investigation to the FBI’s investigation of Tuesday’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) involved shooting of Lorenzo Salgado-Araujo. Teare. The DA, who received significant campaign contributions from George Soros, is urging anyone with video, photos, or eyewitness accounts to contact his office. The move could interfere with or slow down the ongoing federal investigation by ICE and the FBI.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado-Araujo occurred on Tuesday in Houston during a targeted enforcement operation where the 52-year-old Salgado-Araujo allegedly attempted to flee and then reportedly attempted to run over an officer with his vehicle. Shortly after the shooting, ICE officials identified Salgado-Araujo as a Mexican national illegally present in the United States.
Breitbart Texas Associate Editor Bob Price joined the Fox 26 Houston “What’s Your Point?” panel on Sunday to discuss the developing story in the state’s largest community. Price called for an open and transparent investigation into the alleged assault and the subsequent fatal shooting of Salgado.
In a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas following the incident, agency officials said they were attempting to stop a vehicle as part of a “targeted immigration enforcement operation to arrest an illegal alien.” The attempt to stop the vehicle followed a trip from ICE law enforcement partners who provided information regarding two vans at Salgado’s residence, Department of Homeland Security officials stated.
“From information we are receiving, he rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer, resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense,” the ICE official statement read.
According to ICE, in the aftermath of the shooting, emergency services were summoned, and Salgado-Araujo was transported to a Houston-area hospital where he passed away from his injuries. The Houston FBI office is leading the investigation into the shooting and the potential assault on a federal officer.
Teare spoke on Houston Public Media’s Hello Houston Show, telling the outlet his office is conducting the investigation despite not directly being invited to participate by federal authorities currently looking into the circumstances of the shooting. In the report by Houston Public Media, Teare says his office lacks the same level of access that it generally does in other officer-involved shootings.
Teare emphasized his commitment to investigating the ICE-involved shooting, telling Hello Houston Show’s hosts, “If a state crime was committed, be it a murder, be it a manslaughter, be it tampering with evidence, we are going to investigate it, and if someone committed that crime, you don’t get to hide behind a badge.”
Teare, a proponent of progressive alternatives to prosecution for criminal offenders such as diversion and mental health interventions, received more than $2 million from the George Soros-connected Texas Justice and Public Safety Political Action Committee, according to campaign finance documents highlighted in a report by Texasscorecard.com.
Teare is joined by other Harris County Democrat officials weighing in on the incident and calling for a thorough investigation into Tuesday’s shooting. Houston Mayor John Whitmire chimed in on Saturday in an X post saying, “We met with the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and reaffirmed the City of Houston’s commitment to a thorough investigation into the fatal July 7 ICE enforcement action.”
Current Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, once a nominee by President Biden for ICE Director in 2021, shared his thoughts on Friday for the family of Lorenzo Salgado-Araujo, saying, “Every loss of life is a tragedy. My thoughts are with the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and with all those in our community who have been impacted by this incident. Although my office is not involved in this investigation, I believe Lorenzo’s family deserves answers, and our community deserves confidence that the facts will be thoroughly, objectively, and independently examined.”
None of the Harris County Democrat officials, including District Attorney Teare, offered support for the federal law enforcement officers involved in the incident as the federal investigation continues.
Should Teare attempt to prosecute any federal officials involved in the shooting and/or investigation, he could face several legal hurdles. Federal agents, acting in their capacity as federal law enforcement officers, have immunity under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to an article published by Stamford School of Law.
“A doctrine of Supremacy Clause immunity would intervene, namely the officers could escape liability by showing that however bad the consequences, they acted reasonably, if mistakenly, within the scope of their duties,” Professor of Law Robert Weisberg said during a Q&A with Sharon Driscoll. “In addition, a federal law says that if the state brings criminal charges, the officer defendant can move the case from state to federal court, presumably on the theory that the federal courts are more objective. Oddly enough, in that federal court, the prosecutor will still be the state prosecutor and the law applied will be state homicide law. But the chances of conviction there may be affected if the jury pool in a federal district differs from the county pool in terms of demographics.”
A decision about whether the ICE officer or officers qualify for the immunity would be made by a federal judge, not a local state-court jury. Federal standards are highly protective of officers when determining whether they acted properly in a split-second decision to fire their weapons in self-defense. An evaluation looks at the facts through the eyes of the officer at the time of the incident. Should a federal judge find the officers acted within policy the state indictment could be dismissed “with prejudice,” barring any future state prosecution in the matter.
The Fox 26 “What’s Your Point?” panel did a deep, hour-long dive into the shooting during the “Overtime” show, which is available online at Fox26Houston.com.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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