Video suggests DHS exaggerated claims about the shooting of Marimar Martinez: Visual analysis

(CHICAGO) — Last October, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that federal agents in Chicago were “forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen” after their SUV was “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.”

But analysis of recently released body-camera footage of the shooting of Marimar Martinez and videos verified by nearby businesses and bystanders suggests that those claims were exaggerated — and that federal agents, knowing their actions were being recorded, appeared to coordinate with one another to explain their conduct that day.

Body camera footage and other evidence was released Tuesday after a federal judge last week granted a motion to permit the public release of the materials in the case.

The video shows that in the minute before the shooting, agents were being followed by two, not 10 vehicles. Agents stated they were “boxed in,” but at no time was their vehicle blocked from the front.

At no point in footage from an agent’s body-worn camera or from multiple surveillance cameras is a driver seen ramming the agents’ vehicle; instead, the video shows an agent appearing to steer toward the vehicle driven by Martinez, crashing into her, and then rapidly firing toward her.

Martinez, a U.S. citizen and teacher’s assistant, was shot five times during the incident. She’s now planning to sue DHS and the agent for allegedly making false claims about her following the shooting and labeling her a domestic terrorist.

While prosecutors originally alleged that Martinez “aggressively and erratically” pursued officers that day, a judge dismissed the criminal case against her with prejudice after a reversal by the Department of Justice, which sought to dismiss the case.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said in a statement that the officer who shot Martinez was placed on administrative leave following the incident. The statement did not indicate the length of the administrative leave or when it began.

“CBP is committed to the highest standards of conduct, transparency, and accountability. All significant use-of-force incidents are thoroughly investigated, reviewed, and presented to the National Use of Force Review Board (NUFRB), an independent body comprised of senior CBP officials and representatives from DHS and DOJ, including the DOJ Civil Rights Division,” the statement said.

Below is a timeline of the incident based on the body camera footage and bystander video leading up to and after the shooting.

The lead-up
10:27:02 a.m.

Three federal agents are riding in an SUV in the first moments of video from an agent’s body-worn camera. Later, the video will reveal an Uber placard on the front of their SUV.  One agent is seen speaking into the voice chat app on a nearby phone. 

At the time, the Trump administration had surged federal resources for immigration enforcement in Chicago as part of “Operation Midway Blitz.”

According to a court filing, the agents were part of a protective detail assisting a nearby operation in Oaklawn. An FBI agent originally attested that the officers were being followed by multiple civilian vehicles.

10:28:17 a.m.

The agent’s body camera begins recording audio.

“Camera’s on,” the agent says. 

The agent readies an assault rifle. With his finger on the trigger, one of the agents can be heard saying what sounds like either “do something, b—-,” or “hit something, b—-.”

10:28:35 a.m.

Another agent is seen pointing his handgun toward the right of the SUV.

A nearby driver repeatedly honks their horn, prompting one of the officers to remark, “Honk all you want.”

The agents’ vehicle is captured on a security camera on Kedzie Avenue. The SUV is flanked by Martinez, in a gray Nissan Rogue, to the agents’ left.

To their right is a GMC SUV, adorned with a Mexican flag on its hood, driven by Anthony Ruiz. Ahead of them are two cars: a sedan and a red pickup truck.

10:28:47 a.m.

Seconds later, the agent with the active body-worn camera says, “Alright, it’s time to get aggressive, get the f—- out. Because they’re trying to box us in.”

“If she hits us, it’s … ,” another agent can be heard saying.

10:28:57 a.m.

Charles Exum, the driver, appears to be the agent who says, “We’re going to make contact, we’re boxed in … we have got to get [inaudible] out of here. “

“We are boxed in,” the agent with the active body-worn camera repeats.

10:28:58 a.m.

The three vehicles briefly enter the frame of a security camera looking over a gas station parking lot.

Martinez, in the Nissan Rogue, is parallel with the agents to their left. Ruiz is behind them and to their right.

The pickup truck and the sedan, previously observed ahead of the agents’ vehicle, are also observed traveling several car lengths ahead of the agents.

10:29:01 a.m.

Exum appears to turn the car’s wheel to the left. A loud crash is heard, and the agents visibly react.  

By this time, the two cars ahead of the agents have driven into the path of another security camera. The cars do not stop and drive out of view.

The shooting
10:29:04 a.m.

The agents’ vehicle comes to a stop. Their vehicle and Ruiz’s are seen stopped at the rightmost edge of the gas station security footage. The view of Martinez’s vehicle is blocked, and we do not see the agents’ vehicle make contact with hers.

Exum is seen holding a handgun in his right hand.  

10:29:06 a.m.

“Out of the car,” the driver says, as he exits the car with his handgun drawn.

“Be advised, we’ve been struck, we’ve been struck,” the agent with the body-worn camera says.

A second later, five gunshots can be heard in rapid succession.

The agents’ SUV enters the field of view of another security camera. A drawing of the scene — made by one of the agents during their interview with the FBI, according to Martinez’s lawyers — indicated three vehicles were ahead of the agents’ SUV, but the footage shows that at the moment of the shooting, the agents’ vehicle has an unobstructed path forward.

10:29:09 a.m.

Martinez’s vehicle enters the frame of the security camera. She drives north, away from the scene.

10:29:11 a.m.

The agent with the body-worn camera points his rifle toward Ruiz’s vehicle, as it reverses and crashes into a parked car before turning to the left to drive away. Ruiz is later arrested at a gas station a half block away.

“Don’t you f—— move,” the officer says.

10:29:18 a.m.

As the agent turns around, his body camera shows that the SUV is not being blocked in front of it.

The aftermath
10:32:49 a.m.

Exum’s body-worn camera turns on about three minutes after firing his weapon.

10:39:19 a.m.

Exum tells a responding officer that he fired “five to seven shots” at Martinez.

“I don’t know if I hit her or not,” he says. “I [was] angled at the driver, I got five to seven rounds off at her.”

“It was a woman shooting?” the officer asked.  

“No, I was shooting,” Exum said.  

10:39:38 a.m.

Exum tells a responding officer that he “did the shooting” after Martinez hit his SUV.

“She already hit my vehicle, we got out to defend, she came forward, and that’s when I opened up on her,” he said. “We did not get shot at; we did the shooting.”

10:45:04 a.m.

As more officers arrive at the scene, Exum and the other agents begin to recount the incident and to ask whether his camera was on.

“We were getting out to defend because they already tried to box us in,” he said. “She was moving forward into me.”

“Camera on or no?” an officer said.

“No, I didn’t have it because we were [inaudible],” he said.

“That’s good, as long as you can justify it, bro,” the officer responds. 

10:48:14 a.m.

As Exum prepares to light a cigarette, another officer acknowledges that their conversation is being recorded and advises him to “keep everything out.”

“So she hit you guys … You got boxed in?” an officer asked.

“We [were] getting boxed in, and I had to push left. She came in, she pulled over, stopped. I got out so we could defend,” Exum said.

“Hey, hey, just real quick though, since we’re recording, keep it [inaudible],” another officer says. “Keep everything out, you’re good man.”

10:50:30 a.m.

Another officer tells Exum to “keep [his] mouth shut” about the incident.

“Just so you know, you don’t give statements to anybody,” the officer says. “Absolutely no statements at all … You keep your mouth shut.”

10:51:34 a.m.

Exum turns off his body camera. 

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