ICE Agent Kills LA Man Accused of Child Abuse, Racism
The off-duty federal immigration agent who shot and killed a Los Angeles man on New Year’s Eve allegedly whipped his sons with a belt and made racist and homophobic remarks in the past, according to documents obtained by The Times.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer Brian Palacios shot Keith Porter Jr. late on Dec. 31 at a Northridge apartment complex, according to a sworn declaration submitted by attorney michelle Diaz in a custody dispute between Palacios’ girlfriend and her ex-husband, wich was made public Thursday.
The document alleges that Palacios is the shooter “based on details and belief,” citing records and testimony identifying him as an ICE agent who lives in the complex.
A review of court transcripts, proof of service documents and motions related to the custody battle shows Palacios is an ICE agent and confirms that he lives in a unit at the Village Pointe apartments. The unit number reflects an apartment that is just a short distance from the location where neighbors say Porter was killed.
Stacie Halpern, an attorney representing Palacios, said her client acted in self-defense the night that Porterwas killed. She denied that he had ever made racist remarks and provided reports from the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services and Los Angeles police that deemed the child abuse allegations to be “unfounded.”
no one answered the door at the apartment listed for Palacios on Friday. An LAPD spokesman declined to comment and a DCFS spokeswoman said she was barred from discussing the case by state law.
Friends and advocates say Porter – a 43-year-old Compton native and father of two - was firing a gun into the air to celebrate the new year on the night of his death.
Tricia McLaughlin, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary of public affairs, initially said a suspected “active shooter” was killed following an exchange of gunfire with an off-duty ICE agent. In her statement, McLaughlin said the agent “bravely responded to an active shooter situation at his apartment complex.”
McLaughlin did not address questions about the agent’s identity on Friday or the past allegations against him. halpern said her client remained on-duty for ICE as of Friday afternoon.
los Angeles police said no one else was injured in the incident.
Jamal Tooson, an attorney for Porter’s family, said in a statement: “Shoudl this individual be confirmed as the person responsible for Keith’s death, based on his deeply disturbing past allegations it is indeed unimaginable that any human being with a conscience on this earth could regard him as a hero.”
Later on Friday, Tooson suggested the killing was a racially motivated hate crime and said he was considering asking for California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to launch an independent investigation.
A spokesperson for the L.A. County district attorney’s office said the incident is under investigation by the Justice System Integrity division, which investigates killings by law enforcement officers.
A meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission was packed last week with angry activists and residents, many of whom called for authorities to release the ICE agent’s name. Even though the names of LAPD officers involved in fatal use-of-force incidents are normally made public within weeks,there is no such rule for federal agencies.
The document filed this week sought to temporarily bar Palacios’ girlfriend from seeing her daughter from her first marriage,based on the potential danger posed by the ICE agent’s alleged involvement in the shooting. According to L.A. County court orders reviewed by The Times, a judge barred Palacios from having any contact with the children from his previous marriage last February. That order was upheld last June, even after DCFS and LAPD dismissed the abuse allegations, the county court filings show.
“Palacios is presently prohibited by Court Order from being in the presence of the parties’ minor children because of his abus
Okay,here’s a breakdown of the key information from the provided text,organized for clarity.It covers the two shooting incidents, details surrounding each, and concerning background information about the agent involved in the Northridge shooting.
I. The Two Shooting Incidents:
* Huntington Beach (Good Shooting):
* A federal agent (name not given, but involved in ICE investigations) shot and killed Courtney Good.
* Evidence (cellphone video) suggests Good was trying to drive away when the agent shot at her through the driver’s side window.
* the shooting has sparked widespread protests.
* Trump governance officials defended the agent,claiming Good “weaponized her vehicle” in an act of “domestic terrorism.”
* Northridge (Porter Shooting):
* Agent Palacios (off-duty) shot and killed Kevin Porter on New Year’s Eve around 10:40 PM.
* No video or security camera footage exists of the incident.
* The investigation is ongoing, and details are murky.
II. Details Surrounding the Porter Shooting (Northridge):
* Conflicting Accounts:
* Law Enforcement (and halpern, Palacios’ attorney): porter was found with a rifle, there’s evidence of bullet impacts behind where Palacios would have been standing (suggesting Porter fired first), and Palacios identified himself as law enforcement before shooting.
* Tooson (porter’s attorney): No witnesses have corroborated claims that Palacios faced any danger.
* Porter’s Supporters: porter was firing a gun in the air to celebrate the New Year (a felony,but they argue Palacios overreacted).
* Evidence:
* A rifle was found with Porter.
* Two bullet impacts were found behind where Palacios was standing.
* Justification (from Halpern): Palacios had an “absolute right to self-defense” because Porter was shooting a gun in a residential area (“What goes up must come down”).
III. Concerning Background Information about Agent Palacios:
* Restraining order: A Los Angeles county judge barred Palacios from being around his girlfriend’s children due to allegations of abuse (whipping his sons with a belt).
* Allegations of Bias:
* The children accused Palacios of using homophobic slurs and racist remarks against Black and Latino people.
* He allegedly referred to the children’s father as an ”illegal alien.”
* Omar Escorcia (the ex-husband of Palacios’ girlfriend) claims Palacios routinely used the slur ”wetbacks” when referring to Latinos.
* Halpern denies these claims.
* Gun at a Youth Soccer Game: Escorcia alleges Palacios showed up to a youth soccer game with a gun visible in his waistband, alarming other parents.
In essence, the article presents two controversial shootings involving law enforcement, highlighting the challenges of determining the truth when evidence is limited and accounts differ. It also raises serious questions about the background and potential biases of the agent involved in the Northridge shooting.