1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

Demand an independent investigation into the ICE shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. Mayor Whitmire's claim that HPD has no jurisdiction here is flat wrong, and legal experts have said so plainly. Thomas Hogan, a former district attorney and law professor at South Texas College of Law, called HPD's position "ridiculous," noting that federal officers do not escape state jurisdiction simply because they were on duty. Sandra Guerra Thompson of the University of Houston Law Center was equally clear: killing someone at point-blank range is a potential state crime — murder — regardless of the shooter's federal employment status. Harris County DA Teare has already said his office will investigate if a state crime was committed, and that no one gets to "hide behind a badge." HPD Chief Diaz should direct the homicide division to support that investigation and bring independent information to the family, as Council Member Joaquin Martinez has already requested. Whitmire's reluctance to act because of political pressure from Austin and Washington is not a legal argument — it's a choice. A man is dead. His family deserves answers, and this city has both the authority and the obligation to pursue them.