ICE agent who killed L.A. man allegedly threatened criminal charges over being identified - BERITAJA

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement supplier who shot and killed a Los Angeles man connected New Year’s Eve allegedly threatened his girlfriend’s ex-husband pinch criminal prosecution complete his sanction being made public, according to a restraining bid exertion and an audio signaling reviewed by The Times.

The ICE agent, Brian Palacios, was first identified by The Times successful January arsenic being responsible for the sidesplitting based disconnected tribunal filings successful a custody dispute. Palacios was disconnected work erstwhile he changeable Keith Porter Jr. successful a Northridge flat complex. The lawsuit remains nether investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police said a firearm was recovered from Porter connected the nighttime he was killed. Some of Porter’s friends person suggested he was shooting the limb into the aerial to observe the caller year. Federal authorities said successful the contiguous aftermath of the incident that the ICE supplier was responding to a suspected “active shooter” erstwhile he opened fire. Palacios’ lawyer has said he acted successful self-defense.

On May 21, Omar Escorcia, the ex-husband of Palacios’ girlfriend, revenge a petition that sought to barroom Palacios from being about 2 children pinch whom he had shared custody. Escorcia alleged successful the restraining bid petition that Palacios’ engagement successful the shooting made him excessively vulnerable to beryllium about the kids.

A judge granted the bid connected a impermanent ground connected May 22, according to Escorcia’s attorney, Michelle E. Diaz.

Palacios’ attorney, Stacie Halpern, said Tuesday she could not instantly remark connected the allegations successful the restraining order. ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the restraining bid application, Palacios contacted Escorcia by telephone connected April 30 and told him ICE was starting a criminal investigation against him.

“At this point, my agency’s going to spell aft you for conspiracy for what you did. You put my life astatine consequence by putting my sanction retired there,” Palacios said, according to a transcript of the telephone telephone included successful the restraining bid application.

Palacios told Escorcia that agents would travel to his location for an interview, according to the restraining bid application, and implied they mightiness behaviour migration enforcement astatine Escorcia’s home.

“Make judge nary one’s location that doesn’t person papers. Okay?” Palacios added astatine the extremity of the minute-long conversation, according to the telephone transcript.

The Times reviewed a signaling of the speech that matches the transcript contained successful Escorcia’s petition.

According to the telephone transcript, Palacios accused Escorcia of leaking his sanction to organizers pinch the Los Angeles section of Black Lives Matter, which has called for Palacios to beryllium prosecuted for shooting Porter.

Melina Abdullah, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter L.A., said this week that her statement has had nary interaction pinch Escorcia and didn’t cognize Palacios’ sanction until aft The Times identified him.

Diaz said she did not judge her customer leaked the agent’s sanction to anyone. The April 30 telephone telephone “came retired of nowhere,” according to Diaz, who said Palacios initiated interaction pinch her client.

“Knowing that an equipped national ICE supplier has a individual vendetta against me, that he is utilizing his position pinch the national authorities to harass and frighten me, and that he has nary remorse for murdering different man, causes maine genuine fear,” Escorcia wrote successful his restraining bid petition, referring to Palacios’ comments arsenic “threats.”

Porter’s decease has go a rallying constituent for Los Angeles activists, who regularly invoke his sanction astatine Police Commission meetings and protests. The L.A. County territory attorney’s agency will yet determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Jamal Tooson, an lawyer for the Porter family, says he has recovered witnesses who opportunity Porter appeared to beryllium stepping backmost to his flat erstwhile he was shot. Tooson besides said the witnesses did not perceive the national serviceman place himself earlier firing 3 shots.

“This signaling amplifies the deficiency of remorse for the sidesplitting of Keith Porter Jr.,” Tooson said, calling for the LAPD to decorativeness its investigation.

Porter’s mother, Francello Armstrong, said that listening to the signaling had stirred the aforesaid condolences and anger she felt aft her boy was changeable dead.

“He has nary remorse, he has nary compassion,” she said of Palacios.

Palacios’ attorney, Halpern, has said location is grounds that Porter fired astatine the supplier first. A rule enforcement charismatic antecedently told The Times that detectives recovered grounds of 2 slug impacts down wherever Palacios was opinionated astatine the clip of the shooting, which would support claims that he was fired upon by Porter.

Halpern has said that Palacios returned to work wrong a fewer weeks of the shooting. The supplier has since moved retired of the flat complex.

It’s unclear what criminal behaviour Palacios was accusing Escorcia of committing successful the telephone call.

Federal officials person many times complained about ICE and Border Patrol agents being “doxxed” successful caller months, and successful uncommon cases, prosecutors person revenge criminal charges against activists accused of sharing individual accusation about migration officers online.

Under national law, the crime of “doxxing” requires that a victim’s sanction and reside beryllium made nationalist for the purposes of threatening them aliases inciting violence. The specified personality of a national supplier is not, connected its own, protected by law.