Autopsy: Tohono O'odham man shot 9 times by Border Patrol as death ruled a homicide
Three U.S. Border Patrol agents shot Raymond Mattia nine times outside his home on May 18, according to the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office autopsy report released Friday.
Mattia’s manner of death was determined to be homicide. The death determination doesn't imply criminal intent nor does it draw a legal conclusion.
Mattia, 58, was shot once in the back as well as in his abdomen, shoulder, buttock, forearm, elbow and both thighs, the report found. Methamphetamine, alcohol, amphetamine and oxycodone were found in Mattia’s body, according to the toxicology report.
Agents shot Mattia, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, numerous times after he tossed a sheathed machete in front of a Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department officer. Agents began firing after Mattia took his hand from his jacket pocket, according to the body camera footage released Thursday.
Related: Bodycam footage released in fatal Border Patrol shooting of Tohono O'odham man
“For any of those shootings that involve federal law enforcement officers, someone in the federal government is going to do an assessment and figure out whether or not that was a good shoot,” Gary Restaino, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, said Friday during a news conference.
“There'll be an investigation, an assessment of the force used, and we are going to look at tensions in the community.”
The shooting is under investigation by the FBI and the Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department and is being reviewed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
One Border Patrol agent could be heard threatening to shoot Mattia again if he didn’t put his hands out as the agent approached Mattia lying motionless face down on the ground.
'We want justice': Family, friends of Tohono O'odham man protest Border Patrol killing
“Put your hands out, bro. You’re gonna get shot again,” one agent yelled at Mattia in the video as he was approaching him.
Agents appeared to believe that Mattia had a gun in his hand in the video as they repeatedly asked and searched for a gun after shooting him. One agent said that Mattia still had a gun in his hand as the agents and officer approached him on the ground.
A phone and black phone case could be seen near Mattia after he was shot. The shooting happened in the Menagers Dam Village in the Tohono O’odham Nation. The community is roughly a mile north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
CBP has not commented on if a firearm was found on Mattia.
At least 10 Border Patrol agents were present for the shooting alongside one police officer. The Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department had requested assistance from Border Patrol to respond to a "shots fired" call west of the community.
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Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities? Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Border Patrol shot Tohono O'odham man 9 times, death ruled a homicide
