Bodycam footage captures the terrifying moment Border Patrol agents shot and killed a tribal member in Arizona who allegedly called them to report undocumented immigrants on his property.
Raymond Mattia, 58, was killed on May 18 outside his home in Menagers Dam Village of the Tohono O’Odham Nation, just a few miles from the US-Mexico border.
Three agents shot Mattia nine times, according to the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy report released Friday. His cause of death was ruled a homicide.
Video released by US Customs and Border Protection on Thursday shows the moments before and after the shooting.
Agents are seen approaching Motia’s home in the dark after responding to a 911 call about a shooting.
Raymond Matia, 58, was killed by police on May 18 outside his home in the village of Menagers Dam on the Tohono Oodham Nation.
Video released Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows the shooting
The agents refrained from approaching Motia for several minutes as they demanded the dead man remove his hands
When they saw Matia leaving his house, they could be heard ordering him to ‘put it down’ and take his hands out of his pockets.
When Matias reached out of his pocket and held out a dark object, three agents shot him multiple times with batons and a barbed wire fence.
When the fire stopped, Mattia was seen lying with a cellphone and agents could be heard repeatedly asking if anyone saw a rifle on or near him.
An agent can then be heard shouting: ‘Bro, hands off. You will be shot again.’
Another says, ‘Put your hand up so we can help you!’
The agents refrained from approaching Motia for several minutes as they demanded the dead man remove his hands. An agent is heard crying as he approaches his body on the ground, telling him the man may still have a gun.
Officers eventually reached Motia’s body and handcuffed him as blood stains appeared on his sweat shirt.
As the agents approached, Motia threw a sheathed knife in front of an officer, according to the Border Patrol.
‘She threw a knife at us, mate,’ one of the officers is heard saying as they inspect the body.
While CPR was performed and EMS was called to the scene, Mattia died later that night.
The autopsy report said Matiya was shot once in the back, abdomen, shoulder, hip, arm, elbow and once in both thighs.
According to the toxicology report, Matia was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, alcohol, amphetamines and oxycodone.
A relative, who did not want to be identified, told News 4 Tucson that Raymond called to request assistance from the Border Patrol with ‘multiple illegal immigrants who entered his yard’ and asked to use his telephone and bathroom.
‘They told us approximately 38 shots were fired at him,’ the relative told a local news outlet. ‘You know this is excessive and we want justice and we want to know what happened and why so many Border Patrol agents out there shot him.’
The relative added that Mattia often called the Border Patrol to report immigrants on his property.
Officers eventually reached Motia’s body and handcuffed him as blood stains were visible on his sweatshirt
Matia’s family and loved ones held two protests outside the Border Patrol station in Tucson and near the Tohono O’Odham Nation Reservation.
The Border Patrol, however, said they were in the area to investigate reports of gunfire. The 911 call at the beginning of the police footage actually shows officers responding to a shooting.
Police have not released how many times Matia was shot.
Friends and family of Matias said he was an artist, a man of ceremony and a respected member of the tribal community known as a traditional hunter and singer.
His loved ones held two protests outside the Border Patrol station in Tucson and near the Tohono O’Odham Nation Reservation.
Newstimesuk.com has contacted US Customs and Border Protection for comment on this story.
The agency’s National Use of Force Review Board said it will review the shooting to determine whether the agents ‘followed CBP policy on permissible use of force.’
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