By Brad Brooks and Julia Harte
Sept 22 (Reuters) – A Venezuelan man shot by a federal immigration agent in Austin, Texas, was treated at a hospital on Tuesday for paralysis on his left side after he had spent a night in ICE detention with a bullet lodged in his back, according to his lawyer.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was then returned to the detention facility 130 miles southwest of Austin later on Tuesday, his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a written reply to Reuters’ questions on Tuesday afternoon that Perez was back at an ICE detention center about 130 miles southwest of Austin.
During a news conference on Monday, Lincoln-Goldfinch introduced a man who phoned in as Perez, who said he had been transferred to the detention facility on Sunday after a few hours in the hospital following the shooting. On the Monday call, Perez, 28, said that he was still bleeding and was not receiving adequate medical care.
“I’m not doing well because of the gunshot I received,” he said in Spanish. He added that he had to sleep on the floor at the detention center but did not explain.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, denied in a Tuesday statement that Perez was forced to sleep on the floor and also said that he had been receiving pain medications and other medical treatment while at the detention center.
The Austin Police Department on Tuesday released body-cam footage that showed its officers responding to the incident. In one video, Perez is seen inside his car as two ICE officers stand nearby. He tells police that his shoulder hurts, and he is told to exit the vehicle and is then placed in handcuffs. A police officer then uses shears to cut away his shirt, revealing a single gunshot wound to his upper back.
Perez said he had been out working as a DoorDash food delivery driver on Sunday when his car was sideswiped by the agents, who he said did not identify themselves or turn on any sort of lights or siren.
Perez said that an agent shot him while he was still in his car and that there had been no foot chase. Austin police said on Sunday that he had run from agents.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday requested that DHS halt removal proceedings against Perez while the investigation into his shooting continued, saying his ability to participate as a material witness would be “severely hindered” if he were deported.
(Reporting by Julia Harte and Brad Brooks; editing by Donna Bryson, Franklin Paul, Cynthia Osterman and Aurora Ellis)
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