Newly released body camera footage of a fatal shooting in Texas last year is raising questions about the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) initial claim that a driver intentionally rammed a federal immigration agent before he was killed.
The videos, released Friday after public records requests by media outlets including the Associated Press, show the moments leading up to the March 15, 2025 shooting of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez on South Padre Island.
The footage appears to contradict earlier assertions that Martinez accelerated his vehicle and struck a federal agent, prompting defensive gunfire.
Martinez was among the earliest fatalities linked to enforcement actions after President Donald Trump launched a nationwide immigration crackdown during his second term.
What the newly released video shows
Body camera footage taken from behind Martinez’s blue Ford sedan shows the car approaching an intersection where police were directing traffic following a crash. Several local police officers and three Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were present at the scene.
The video shows Martinez’s vehicle moving slowly toward the intersection and stopping to allow pedestrians to cross. Officers then began shouting commands for the driver to stop.
As agents approached the vehicle, the car began moving forward slowly and turning left. One agent stood near the front of the vehicle while another moved along the driver’s side. Moments later, an agent identified as Supervisory Special Agent Jack Stevens fired three shots through the driver’s side window.
In the footage, Martinez’s vehicle appears to be moving very slowly, or possibly stationary, when the shots are fired. Brake lights on the car are visible.
Conflicting accounts of the shooting
In a statement to investigators, Stevens said he fired his weapon after Martinez accelerated and struck another agent, leaving the agent on the hood of the car.
Stevens said he feared the vehicle was being used as a weapon and believed it could cause mass casualties.
“The driver’s eyes were open widely … and he was looking in the path of their intended movement,” Stevens wrote, describing what he called “pre-attack indicators.”
DHS previously said the agent fired “defensive shots” after Martinez intentionally ran over a fellow agent.
However, the newly released footage does not clearly show the car striking an officer.
Additionally, the agent who was reportedly hit was seen in the video walking normally shortly after the shooting while assisting with arrests.
Passenger said driver panicked
Joshua Orta, Martinez’s friend who was riding in the passenger seat, told investigators that Martinez had been drinking earlier that night and became nervous when he encountered a heavy police presence.
Orta said Martinez panicked because he feared being arrested for driving while intoxicated.
“He didn’t know what to do,” Orta told investigators. “He definitely didn’t want to go to jail. But as far as running over an officer, he wouldn’t do that.”
Orta said the car was “barely moving” when officers approached and that one officer appeared to step onto the hood after his feet got caught.
Orta died in a separate car crash in February this year before he could formally sign a sworn declaration about the incident.
Aftermath and investigation
Following the shooting, officers pulled Martinez from the car, threw him to the ground and handcuffed him. Medical personnel began treating him roughly two minutes later.
An autopsy found all three bullets fired by Stevens struck Martinez. The rounds traveled through his arm and into his torso, piercing his heart, lungs and liver.
The report also found Martinez had a blood alcohol level of 0.12 per cent, above Texas’ legal driving limit of 0.08 per cent.
The Texas Rangers investigated the shooting, but a grand jury last week declined to file criminal charges against Stevens.
Family demands transparency
Lawyers representing Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, say the footage undermines the government’s justification for the shooting.
“This evidence shows no justification for Ruben’s killing,” attorneys Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm said in a statement.
Reyes, who voted for Trump in the 2024 election, said she does not blame the president personally but believes changes are needed in federal enforcement practices.
“I don’t blame President Trump for the death of my son,” she said. “But something needs to change in that department.”
DHS officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the newly released videos.
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