A federal criminal complaint alleges that a 28-year-old DoorDash driver struck an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with his vehicle’s side mirror during a traffic stop on September 20 in Austin, Texas, before being shot. The incident has drawn nationwide condemnation from anti-ICE activists and politicians.
According to the Department of Justice filing, Perez was parked with hazard lights activated when officers discovered through a database check that he had an active deportation order. Perez asked officers to allow him to wait for his wife to retrieve his vehicle but they refused. The complaint states he then “abruptly” closed the window and accelerated, leading one officer to be struck in the torso by the side mirror as he fled.
Perez allegedly led law enforcement on a car chase lasting approximately eight minutes before being shot by an officer without a body camera. The second officer, equipped with a body camera, arrived at the scene after the shooting occurred.
Perez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, stated that he was seeking asylum and held a valid work permit but missed an immigration court hearing because a notice to appear had been sent to his previous address. She also reported that Perez remains in “extremely bad medical condition” following the gunshot wound and has been requesting surgery to remove the bullet.
The Department of Homeland Security responded that Perez’s work permit expired in 2025 and described him as an “illegal alien from Venezuela who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal.”
Perez was charged with one count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. The complaint includes still-frames from police footage but does not release the body camera video.
