wounded Parias and a deputy marshal last week. <\/a> <\/p>\nThe Department of Homeland Security told The Times that Parias is an undocumented immigrant who \u201cpreviously escaped from custody,\u201d but did not respond to detailed questions about why six armed federal agents let Parias walk away. A federal criminal complaint charging Parias with assault on a federal officer described him as having previously \u201cavoided capture.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the U.S. marshals service declined to comment, referring all questions to DHS.<\/p>\n
The June 13 incident became a point of contention during a detention hearing for Parias on Friday morning, with Asst. U.S. Atty. Chris Jones saying that \u201cin the chaos of the scene, and while still in handcuffs, [Parias] picked up and fled.\u201d Gabriela Rivera, Parias\u2019 federal public defender, rejected that claim, arguing that officers \u201cpermitted him to go to the hospital\u201d and \u201chad the opportunity and ability to follow up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey waited several months to do that,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s simply not the conduct someone takes if they think you\u2019re a danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was not granted permission by law enforcement to go to the hospital,\u201d Jones countered, saying that Parias had been \u201cwhisked away\u201d and had \u201cfled law enforcement twice\u201d in the last several months.<\/p>\n
The federal judge ordered Parias released on a $15,000 bond with an ankle monitor. When Jones asked for a stay of her order until Monday, the judge declined, stating, \u201cI\u2019m not going to leave him in jail over the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Policing experts expressed concerns about the June incident. <\/p>\n
\u201cNone of that looks to me like a guy who is escaping.\u201d said Jim Bueerman, former chief of police of the Redlands Police Department and founder of Future Policing Institute, an organization that provides research and consulting on law enforcement issues. \u201cIt\u2019s more like they\u2019re allowing this or consenting to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trouble began that day when Parias, outfitted in a \u201cPress\u201d vest, sat in the backseat of a black pickup truck, trailing federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n
According to an LAPD report, deputy marshals were assisting ICE with surveillance in the area of Figueroa and West 48th Street at around 1:45 p.m. As the federal agents drove along West 48th Street, they spotted vehicles following them, police said, including the black pickup truck.<\/p>\n
The agents later told police that after the truck blew a red light, they conducted a traffic stop and ordered the driver and front passenger out of the vehicle.<\/p>\n
ICE agents said they saw a suspect hiding in the backseat and ordered him out of the truck, according to the report. The suspect refused to exit and the agents pulled him out, handcuffed him and sat him on the curb, police said. Video taken at the scene and shared with The Times shows Parias handcuffed on a curb, groaning in pain.<\/p>\n
Police said a large crowd surrounded the agents, recording their activity. Then, police said two unknown people exited a gray sedan, grabbed the handcuffed suspect from the agents and put him in the back of their car, heading to an unknown location.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Times, the driver of the truck, who declined to be identified fearing legal repercussions, said the agents exited the vehicle in front of them with assault rifles pointed at them, ordering him and the front passenger to exit the vehicle. He denied running a red light.<\/p>\n
The driver said once stopped, they followed the agents\u2019 commands but acknowledged that Parias was reluctant to exit. He said he saw two agents open the door and drag Parias out of the truck before a third agent helped pin him down. It was then, the driver said, when Parias began to scream out in pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was yelling out: \u2018me est\u00e1n lastimando\u2019 and \u201cme rompieron la rodilla, llamen la ambulancia,\u2019\u201d the driver said. You\u2019re hurting me. They broke my knee, call an ambulance.<\/p>\n
The truck driver said the agents didn\u2019t inquire about Parias\u2019 immigration status and never presented a warrant for an arrest. <\/p>\n
Federal agents left to avoid conflict with the crowd, according to the LAPD report.<\/p>\n
During the detention hearing Friday, Jones told the judge that officers subsequently secured an arrest warrant for Parias, who\u2019s charged with being in the country illegally.<\/p>\n
Rivera described her client as a \u201ccitizen journalist\u201d and said that on that June day he required medical attention \u201cafter the way [officers] treated him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps because of their unlawful use of force against him, officers did not follow up or engage in further enforcement action against him,\u201d Rivera wrote in a court filing.<\/p>\n
Policing experts who reviewed video of the incident said the crowd did not appear to be threatening law enforcement officials, and the federal agents on the ground didn\u2019t appear to be taking actions showing they were concerned for their safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not a violent confrontation,\u201d Bueermann said. \u201cThey\u2019re not being overwhelmed by the crowd, and the officers\u2019 body language is not consistent with what I\u2019ve seen where officers are highly concerned for their personal safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Video of the incident doesn\u2019t show agents taking precautions that law enforcement would take if they were concerned with the crowd, Bueermann said, such as setting up a perimeter, or forming a semicircle to keep control of their suspect while maintaining sight of the crowd. Instead, Bueermann pointed out, people in the crowd appeared to approach agents, just inches away from Parias while he sat on the sidewalk. When the three men walked to Parias to help him up, none of the agents nearby attempted to stop them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d Bueermann said. \u201cThey\u2019re not doing any of that and I cannot tell you that I\u2019ve ever seen a similar situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teresa Magula of OIR Group, which works with local governments and law enforcement agencies on police reforms, said it could be that agents decided not to make a perimeter, or intervene with Parias leaving, in order to deescalate, but said the crowd didn\u2019t seem to be aggressive with any of the agents.<\/p>\n
But the decision to allow Parias to leave the scene while still handcuffed befuddles her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s wild,\u201d Magula said. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting that he\u2019s handcuffed in front of his body as well. That\u2019s not very common procedure for someone you intend to arrest. It also speaks about a lack of control.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week Parias appeared in handcuffs in federal court to answer the charge against him. Prosecutors accused him of ramming his car into agents\u2019 vehicles after they boxed him in and ordered him out of the car. An agent opened fire, wounding Parias and a deputy U.S. marshal, who was hit with a ricochet bullet.<\/p>\n
Parias, his left arm in a blue sling, sat mostly quiet, listening to the proceedings through a Spanish interpreter. At times he sighed and looked up at the ceiling, appearing pained. Rivera told the judge her client hadn\u2019t received necessary pain medication for hours.<\/p>\n
After conferring with Parias\u2019 19-year-old son, Rivera asked the judge if the young man could hug his father, whom he hadn\u2019t seen in a week. Citing security concerns, the judge declined to grant the request.<\/p>\n
As Parias left the courtroom in shackles his son tearfully shouted out to him in Spanish.<\/p>\n
\u201cPa, vas a estar bien. Estas fuerte, pa,\u201d he said. Dad, you\u2019re going to be OK. You\u2019re strong.<\/p>\n
Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.<\/p>\n