Wilber Garces Perez, the man who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in North Austin last month, underwent surgery on Thursday.
His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said he is now recovering and has spoken to his family.
According to a press release sent out on behalf of Lincoln-Goldfinch and Daniel Woodward of the Texas Civil Rights Project, ICE would not grant Garces Perez’s wife access to the operating room.
He was shot on Sept. 20, after fleeing from a traffic stop, court documents show. As of Thursday, he had a bullet lodged in his back for about 11 days.
“This is a public safety issue,” the lawyers’ statement said. “Federal agents cannot act as judge, jury, and executioner on our streets. We’re seeing agents run plates, make high-risk stops of people with no criminal record, and fail to wear or activate the cameras meant to hold them accountable.”
The officer who shot Garces Perez, who is a Venezuelan national, was not wearing a body camera, according to Rick Bazan, a Department of Homeland Security special agent who testified in court on Wednesday. The other officer involved had turned off his body camera prior to arriving at the scene.
Garces Perez is facing up to 20 years in prison for allegedly assaulting, resisting, interfering and impeding a federal officer.
He is being held by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to his lawyer, following a judge’s ruling that he is a flight risk and will remain in custody.