Our Urgent Call for Transparency and Accountability
The National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) is heartbroken to learn that another unarmed United States citizen–Ruben Ray Martinez–was killed by ICE agents last March. The 23-year-old was in South Padre Island, Texas to celebrate his birthday when an ICE agent shot him multiple times for allegedly not following a command to exit his vehicle.
Despite happening almost a year ago, the public is just now learning of Mr. Martinez’s tragic death from internal incident reports disclosed this week. The details of the shooting that have been disclosed bear striking similarities to the circumstances of Renee Good’s murder last month in Minneapolis.
Unlike the murder of Renee Good, no video footage has surfaced of the incident. In another key difference, the Texas Rangers have been engaged as an independent agency to investigate Mr. Martinez’s death. NPAP urges the Texas Rangers to provide maximum transparency into the investigation. The public has a right to know all the details about the shooting of Mr. Martinez, the third known U.S. citizen to be killed by federal immigration agents under the present administration.
We know from the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti that the official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) account of the circumstances surrounding their shootings did not match the facts. We also know the most reliable form of accountability for the agents involved in the shooting will come from the private civil rights lawsuit that Mr. Martinez’s family files on behalf of their son.
“Even if the government’s account is true, it is unconstitutional for law enforcement officers to use deadly force against a person simply because they refuse to exit a vehicle. Based on the details we have, Mr. Martinez’s murder was not justified, said Lauren Bonds, Executive Director of the National Police Accountability Project. “Even if we cannot expect transparency and accountability from both DHS and the Texas Rangers, we hope his family will get their day in court.”
This week, we learned of a promising young life senselessly cut short by an administration that continues to prioritize violent political theater over the lives of its own citizens. Ruben Ray Martinez and his family deserve justice, and the American public deserves to know the truth of what happened.