Politics

Assaulting and obstructing law enforcement are felonies and federal crimes she said adding anyone who assaults or obstructs law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law

D H S declined to say whether officers involved in any other shootings have been disciplined or suspended from their duties

Around 8:45 am on Aug 16 Francisco Longoria was driving a pickup truck in San Bernardino Calif after making a delivery for his party supply rental business when he

Tricia McLaughlin a D H S spokeswoman stood by past statements in which she and the agency blamed people shot by officers including labeling some of them domestic terrorists

While the administration has been quick to investigate those shot or fired upon there are only two cases in which civil rights or criminal investigations into the officers’ conduct have been announced

It is not unheard-of for prosecutors to bring assault charges against people shot by federal law enforcement especially after incidents that involve people brandishing weapons or directly striking officers

Christy Lopez said it is a way to discredit individuals and tip the scales so that the use of force seems more reasonable from the outset

When you look at cases and it doesn’t seem like the charges are valid or that many are quickly dismissed it’s definitely a red flag that they are misusing criminal charges she added

Charges were either dismissed or prosecutors dropped the case

Charges against six other people shot at by immigration agents are pending

Five defendants have denied aspects of D H S accusations or presented differing accounts in court

Two cases are going to trial in April

Two officers who shot Mr Pretti were placed on leave

Ms McLaughlin referred questions about the four cases where charges were brought and later dropped or dismissed to the Justice Department which declined to comment

Lawyers who investigate police misconduct said consistently filing charges against people shot by officers can be a sign of abusive practices

The judge dismissed the charges and said the agent fired his weapon for reasons completely unclear

Trump administration’s rush to declare Ms Good and Mr Pretti at fault for instigating violence was quickly undercut by a barrage of viral videos

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security claimed Mr Brown made a deliberate attempt to run officers down with his car after a federal immigration agent shot at him in Washington DC last October

The case against Mr Brown quickly unraveled in court as a judge found the government failed to present any evidence supporting its claims

Mr Brown’s case is among 16 shootings by on-duty federal immigration agents in US cities and towns over the past year including those that took the lives of Minnesota protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti