Body Camera Footage Contradicts Federal Officials' Account of Fatal ICE Shooting of American Citizen Ruben Ray Martinez

Newly obtained body camera footage appears to directly contradict the official account provided by federal officials regarding the fatal shooting of 23-year-old American citizen Ruben Ray Martinez by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, Texas. The video, obtained by CBS News, raises serious questions about the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) characterization of the deadly incident.

ICE and DHS had previously claimed that Martinez "accelerated forward" and "intentionally ran over" an ICE agent with his blue Ford Fusion, prompting another agent to fire "defensive shots" into the vehicle. However, the body camera footage — worn by a South Padre Island police officer present at the scene — tells a starkly different story. The video shows Martinez's vehicle was either stationary or moving at an extremely low speed at the moment the fatal shots were fired. Critically, the brake lights on Martinez's vehicle appear to be illuminated when the gunshots are heard, suggesting he may have been attempting to stop rather than accelerate.

Following the shooting, Martinez was pulled from his vehicle, thrown to the ground face-down, and handcuffed by an ICE agent. Video footage shows that emergency medical care was not administered until after he had been restrained — approximately two minutes after sustaining three gunshot wounds.

The official DHS narrative had already faced scrutiny prior to the footage's release. Joshua Orta, Martinez's best friend and a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, stated in a draft declaration that Martinez "did not hit anyone" and was attempting to comply with officer commands. Orta, who tragically died in a separate car crash last month before he could sign the declaration, had also described Martinez as "panicky" and said the car moved only slightly and was "barely moving." Texas Rangers conducted a recorded interview with Orta, during which he recounted that officers had instructed Martinez to stop, and that Martinez appeared nervous — possibly concerned about an open container or potential DWI charges — but had no intention of harming anyone.

"He definitely didn't want to go to jail, but as far as running over an officer and endangering, he wouldn't do that," Orta told investigators.

Attorneys representing Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, released a statement asserting that the footage confirms their client's car "was barely moving when he was shot," that "nobody was in front of his car when he was shot," and that Martinez "was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger."

Reyes, who voted for President Trump in 2024, has publicly called for transparency and systemic reform within immigration enforcement agencies. "I don't blame President Trump for the death of my son," she said in her first television interview since the incident, "but I do think that something needs to be changed in that department as far as the pattern of violence or abuse and impunity."

The Texas Department of Public Safety conducted an investigation into the shooting, but a grand jury declined to return criminal indictments last month. ICE did not publicly confirm its agent's involvement until February 2026 — nearly 11 months after the incident. CBS News reached out to DHS for comment on the newly surfaced footage.

A toxicology report conducted after Martinez's death detected alcohol and marijuana in his system. However, his family's attorney emphasized that Martinez was never stopped on suspicion of intoxication, and that his car was in park at the time the bullets struck him. According to Orta's account, Martinez's last words were, "I'm sorry, sir."