Erick Diaz Cruz Files Federal Lawsuit Against ICE Officer

GRAVESEND – The unarmed man shot in the face by an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has filed a federal civil rights action against the officer in the Eastern District of New York.

The lawsuit details how Erick Diaz Cruz, a 26-year-old man from Mexico who was visiting his mother, Carmen, in Gravesend came to the rescue of his mother’s boyfriend Gaspar Avendaño-Hernandez, only to be shot in his face by one of the two plainclothes ICE agents.

“This is not just an attack against me, but also an attack against the entire Latino community in the United States,” said Erick Diaz Cruz in a statement released to the press today. “This is the right time for our community to come together to protest against and protect ourselves from ICE’s violence.”

Diaz Cruz is being represented by Katie Rosenfeld and Scout Katovich of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP.

“A young, hard-working and law-abiding man was gunned down on the streets of Brooklyn in broad daylight in front of his family, shot in the face at point blank range, by an agent of the United States government,” Rosenfeld said of her client. “Erick posed no threat to anyone, at any time. Erick’s face is shattered, and he and his family are traumatized.  We are a nation of laws, equality and justice; Erick’s case demands that we live up to those values.”