Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz on Tuesday asked the Texas Rangers to conduct an independent investigation into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week, hours after the mayor and council faced public criticism for the city’s response to the shooting.
The request, outlined in a letter from Diaz posted on social media Tuesday night, marks the latest development in the city’s response to the July 7 shooting that has outraged Houstonians, prompting residents to hold vigils and protests over Salgado’s death at the hands of ICE agents during a traffic stop in Magnolia Park last Tuesday.
Diaz’s letter also was sent hours after Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman Martin disclosed that the rangers had not been asked to investigate the shooting in a way that would prompt their intervention. In a letter released Tuesday, Martin told a group of Houston-area lawmakers that while DPS investigates officer-involved shootings involving federal agents when asked, it “has not received a request from any local law enforcement agency or prosecutor to assist.”
“Mayor Whitmire and I are asking for the Texas Rangers to conduct their own investigation, which will ensure it is independent and transparent,” Diaz wrote in the letter posted Tuesday night. “This has been done in previous cases.”
The chief added that HPD would continue making “all appropriate resources available” to support the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, which is handling the investigation into the Salgado shooting, as well as the FBI and “any other law enforcement agency, including the Texas Rangers,” as they review the incident.
Legal experts agree Houston police have the authority to conduct their own investigation into Salgado’s death, although it would be difficult to gather any productive information if federal authorities do not cooperate.
Diaz’s letter came hours after residents packed Houston City Hall to demand greater accountability for Salgado’s death, with many urging the city to launch its own investigation and remove ICE agents from Houston. Protesters outside City Hall chanted “ICE out of Houston” throughout the meeting.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Whitmire reiterated his support for a transparent, independent investigation and said key evidence, including 911 audio and Metro bus surveillance footage, had been turned over to the Teare’s office.
“It’s been one week today since the tragedy of Mr. Araujo. The pain has not subsided,” Whitmire said. “It’s certainly united this council. It’s united our city.”
Salgado, a construction worker who had lived in the United States for decades, was fatally shot July 7 in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood. ICE has said an agent acted in self-defense after Salgado allegedly tried to strike officers with his vehicle, though witnesses and Salgado’s family dispute that account.