Lawyers for Oscar Belgal say an immigration officer shot him in the neck in the Bronx without identifying himself or warning him. In a petition seeking Belgal’s release, the Legal Aid Society says the officer approached his car with a gun, broke the driver’s window and fired while Belgal’s young son was in the back seat.
The lawyers say Belgal had picked up his son from school on Oct. 8 and was looking for parking near a fire hydrant. The Department of Homeland Security gives a different account: officials say officers fired only after Belgal struck two government vehicles with his car and drove toward other officers.
Security camera footage released by New York City police shows a man approach Belgal’s car with a gun pointed at him and break the driver’s window with the gun barrel. The footage captures only part of the encounter and does not settle the dispute over the shooting.
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