Bodycam footage shows the moment Border Patrol agents gun down a tribal member after he called them to report illegal migrants trespassing on his property in Arizona
- Raymond Mattia, 58, was killed outside his home in the Tohono O’odham Nation
- He allegedly threw a machete in its scabbard in front of an officer before
- Video shows officers telling Mattia not to move as he lay motionless on the ground
Bodycam footage captured the horrific moment Border Patrol agents shot and killed a tribesman in Arizona who allegedly called them to report undocumented immigrants on his property.
Raymond Mattia, 58, was killed May 18 outside his home in the Tohono O’odham Nation village of Menagers Dam, just a few miles from the US-Mexico border.
Video released Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows the shooting as well as before and after moments.
Officers are seen approaching Mattia’s home in the dark after responding to a 911 call about a shooting.
When they spot Mattia walking out of her house, they are heard telling her to “put that down” and take her hand out of her pocket.
Raymond Mattia, 58, was killed by police on May 18 outside his home in the village of Menagers Dam in the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Video released Thursday by US Customs and Border Protection shows the shooting
Officers refrain from approaching Mattia for a few minutes as they demand the dying man hold out his hands
When Mattias takes his hand out of his pocket while holding a dark object, three officers shoot him repeatedly through a fence made of sticks and barbed wire.
After the fire subsides, a cell phone can be seen near Mattia and officers are heard repeatedly asking if anyone can spot a gun on or around him.
We then hear an officer shouting: “Hold out your hands, my brother. You will still get shot.
Another said: ‘raise your hand so we can help you!’
Officers refrain from approaching Mattia for a few minutes as they demand that the dying man hold out his hands. As an officer approaches Mattia’s body on the ground as he is heard moaning, he is heard saying that the man might still have a gun.
Eventually, the officers reach Mattia’s body and handcuff him as blood is stained on his sweatshirt.
According to Border Patrol, Mattia threw a sheathed machete in front of an officer as officers approached.
“He threw the machete at us, man,” an officer is heard saying as they inspect the body.
While CPR was performed and EMS were called to the scene, Mattia died later that night.
A relative who did not want to be identified told News 4 Tucson that Raymond called for Border Patrol assistance regarding “several illegal immigrants who had entered his yard” and asked to use his phone and bathroom. bath.
“They told us there were around 38 shots fired at him,” the relative told local media. “You know this is excessive and we want justice and we want to know what happened and why there were so many Border Patrols shooting at him.”
The relative added that Mattia often called Border Patrol to report migrants on his property.
Eventually officers reach Mattia’s body and handcuff him as blood stains his sweatshirt
Mattia’s family and loved ones staged two protests outside Border Patrol posts in Tucson and near the Tohono O’odham Nation reservation
Border Patrol, however, said they were in the area investigating reports of a shooting. The 911 call at the start of the police sequence indeed shows officers responding to a shooting.
Police have not revealed how many times Mattia was shot.
Friends and family of Mattias said he was a well-regarded member of the tribal community, known as an entertainer, ceremonial man and traditional hunter and singer.
His relatives staged two protests outside border patrol posts in Tucson and near the Tohono O’odham Nation reservation.
DailyMail.com has contacted US Customs and Border Protection to comment on this story.
The agency’s National Use of Force Review Board said it would review the shooting to determine whether officers “followed CBP policy regarding the authorized use of force.”
