Chicago woman shot 5 times by CBP officer files federal lawsuit

A woman who survived being shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago filed a federal civil lawsuit Monday against the U.S. government as her attorneys allege that new evidence shows the agent was not in danger for his life and should face criminal charges.

Marimar Martinez, a teaching aide at a Montessori school, was shot in her car by Customs and Border Protection agent Charles Exum in October. The shooting occurred during the Trump administration’s mass immigration enforcement surge in Chicago last year, known as Operation Midway Blitz.

The lawsuit was filed a year after Martinez was shot under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows private citizens to sue the federal government. Federal agents cannot be directly sued, the attorneys said.

The lawsuit alleges negligence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false arrests, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, attorney Michael Gallagher said at a news conference Monday.

“The reality is the shoot wasn’t justified. She almost lost her life as a result. She’s been dealing with the physical and mental injuries ever since then,” he said.

The attorneys also urged the Justice Department and local prosecutors to file criminal charges against Exum.

The Department of…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health