NEW YORK – Lawyers for a man wounded by an immigration officer while driving with his young son in New York City have filed a court petition that sharply contradicts official government accounts of the incident. In a filing submitted Wednesday, attorneys for Oscar Belgal claim the immigration agent who shot him failed to identify himself, instead storming the vehicle as an “anonymous, masked man” before shattering a window and firing into the car.
The legal challenge, filed in Brooklyn federal court by the Legal Aid Society to secure Belgal’s release, describes a harrowing scene on October 8. According to the petition, Belgal had just picked up his five-year-old son from school and was idling near a fire hydrant looking for parking when he was swarmed by armed, masked men.
“The men did not identify themselves, show any documents or otherwise communicate with Oscar in any substantive way,” his lawyers, Perry McAninch and Elyssa Williams, wrote. They allege the primary officer struck and shattered the driver’s side window before opening fire, with one bullet striking Belgal in the neck while his son cowered in the back seat.
The account stands in direct opposition to the version of events provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Officials have maintained that ICE agents only discharged their weapons after Belgal refused orders to exit his vehicle, instead choosing to smash his car into two government vehicles and “accelerate toward other officers.”
New York City police surveillance footage released last week adds further ambiguity to the confrontation. The video depicts a man in a sweatshirt and a red hat approaching the vehicle with a gun drawn, using the barrel to smash the driver’s side window. The footage shows Belgal subsequently pulling away from the officers before the encounter moves out of the camera’s range. The chase concluded moments later with Belgal’s car pinned against a concrete barrier.
Belgal, who remains detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, claims he did not realize his assailants were federal agents until he regained consciousness in a hospital. His attorneys report that the bullet remains lodged in his neck, causing him to suffer from impaired hearing and a loss of sensation on the left side of his face. They further allege that the facility has failed to provide him with necessary surgical intervention.
DHS has declined to comment on the specific allegations, citing an ongoing investigation, but maintains that the officers believed their lives were in danger during the stop. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which manages the jail where Belgal is being held, stated it does not deny inmates necessary medical treatment, though it provided no further specifics regarding his care.
Belgal’s legal team characterized the entire incident and his ongoing detention as unlawful. “ICE officers shot him in the neck in front of his five-year-old son, failed to provide him with immediate medical assistance, and now continue to hold him in a facility notorious for medical neglect,” they stated.
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