Exclusive: ICE arrests witness in active HPD shooting investigation
www.houstonchronicle.com
A man called HPD to report someone firing a gun outside a Home Depot on Sunday but was arrested by ICE agents before officers completed their investigation, according to a police report.

A man called Houston police to report someone firing a gun outside a Home Depot on Sunday but was arrested by federal immigration agents before officers could complete their investigation, according to a police report.

The incident comes as the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have spurred weeks of protests across Houston following the fatal ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Magnolia Park last month and amid ongoing debate over how the Houston Police Department should interact with the federal agency.

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Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the case is an example of what he’s been warning about for months – ICE tactics are damaging public safety.

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“When you have reportees and witnesses getting detained and arrested while cooperating with law enforcement, that’s inherently going to negatively impact witnesses and victim cooperation,” he said. “It’s making people less safe.”

Since President Donald Trump embarked on an immigration crackdown last year, Teare has said witnesses have disappeared or been unwilling to testify in court, making it more difficult to prosecute serious crimes, from homicide to aggravated sexual assault of a child.

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As of Tuesday, Monroy remained at a processing facility in Montgomery County, according to the statement.

Witnesses to crimes who are in ICE custody still can be removed from the country, the statement said, though HPD could file paperwork asking that he remain in the country.

The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. Sunday in the 10000 block of Bellaire Boulevard, according to the police report. Monroy called police and said someone wearing all black had fired a pistol multiple times.

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Council Member Tiffany Thomas, whose District F includes the area where Sunday’s incident happened, said ICE’s actions are undercutting local law enforcement’s relationship with the community.

“We did a good job of getting immigrants to call law enforcement when they saw something,” she said. “But now, when you’re calling, they’re rounding you up.”