The Maine Office of the Attorney General announced Monday afternoon it is investigating the fatal shooting that morning by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Biddeford.
“Initial statements indicate an Enforcement Removal Operations Officer was conducting an enforcement operation related to a final order of removal when the subject attempted to flee in a vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot,” the AG’s office said in a news release.
Officials have not yet identified the victim, but in a joint statement, the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine said he was a 26-year-old from Colombia who had authorization to work in the U.S. and had been issued a Social Security number.
The victim may have been ordered to leave the country, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullen told U.S. Sen. Angus King, according to the Maine independent’s office.
King said that the federal agents weren’t wearing body cameras, meaning there may be no direct video showing what happened between agents and the victim before the shooting. But a bystander captured a video of the aftermath in which agents can be seen pulling a man’s limp body from a car and shackling his wrists.
The Maine AG’s office said the ICE Enforcement Removal Operations officer will be placed on leave as is standard protocol in police involved shootings.
Under Maine law, the AG has exclusive responsibility to investigate all uses of deadly force by on-duty law enforcement officers. In every case, the AG has found the officer was justified.
The office asked members of the public with information relevant to the investigation to contact their local law enforcement agency, and urged any demonstrators to “remain peaceful, be respectful of others, and follow the directions of local law enforcement officers who will be maintaining public order.”
“We also understand this is a matter of significant public interest and while we will strive for meaningful transparency and accountability, our primary focus in this moment is on a complete, thorough investigation. With this in mind, we will work to provide updates as appropriate,” the AG’s office said.
