VIEW LARGER Raymond Mattia was shot and killed by Border Patrol outside his home on May 18. Border officials released footage Thursday of the shooting death of a Tohono O’Odham man while responding to a call for assistance from the Tohono O’Odham police.
Three Border Patrol agents shot and killed 58-year-old Raymond Mattia outside his home near Menagers Dam Village on May 18.
An autopsy report released Friday ruled the death a homicide and said officials shot Mattia nine times in his torso, arms and legs.
The night of May 18, about eight vehicles, from both the Tohono O’Odham Police Department and Border Patrol, responded to a call of shots fired. The incident was captured on the body-worn cameras of 10 agents.
The video released Thursday contains the body-worn footage of the three agents who later fired at Mattia and shows them looking for him in the dark around his home.
They see him and shine their flashlights on him and yell at him to put his hands up and put something he’s holding down.
Mattia throws what he’s holding in a high arch that lands near one of the Tohono O’Odham police officers. Agents did not open fire at that point. Officials later see it’s a sheathed machete.
The agents start yelling at him, and one says, “pull your hands out of your f***ing pocket.” Their guns are pointed at Mattia.
It’s hard to see Mattia’s movements in the video, but a press release says he abruptly extended his right arm away from his body.
The agents start shooting, and at least two dozen shots can be heard.
One agent yells cease-fire. Mattia is on the ground, but the agents continue to yell at him to show his hands.
“Put your hands up so we can help you,” one agent says as they approach him, laying still on the ground.
“He still has a gun in his hand,” an agent says. Another yells to get a medical kit.
They have their guns and rifles pointed at Mattia as they grab his hands and handcuff them behind his back. Some groaning can be heard.
There’s blood on Mattia’s back and arm as they handcuff him. They roll him over and there is blood on the front of him as well.
They continue looking for a firearm. After the shooting, a phone case and cell phone can be seen near Mattia on the ground.
Agents cut off his clothes and began identifying gunshot wounds. They identify four or five, including one in the leg and another in the elbow.
They check for a pulse and say he’s still breathing, but it’s faint.
“Keep breathing, bro. Keep breathing, all right? Stay with me,” an agent says.
After two minutes, they can’t find a pulse and started CPR.
They request an air life medical evacuation but are told it’s not available due to inclement weather.
They continue CPR until a physician at St. Mary’s Hospital pronounced Mattia dead, over the phone, at just after 10 p.m.
The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office did an autopsy on May 19 and will release further information on the cause and manner of death when they finish their review.
This incident is being investigated by the Tohono O’odham Police Department and the FBI and is being reviewed by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
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