Jimenez alleges an ICE officer shot him after he warned agents near a bus stop

Federal assault charges against Jimenez were dismissed last week

Carlos Jimenez filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government on Friday, seeking more than $25 million in damages and alleging that he was wrongfully shot and arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Southern California. The complaint, filed in federal court, describes what followed as a “malicious prosecution” and says the Justice Department charged Jimenez with assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon. Those charges were dismissed last week. Jimenez is from Ontario, a city east of Los Angeles, and is a father of three who was on his way to work at a food pantry on 30 October 2025 when the encounter occurred.

According to the complaint, Jimenez drove past ICE agents carrying out an operation at about 7am and approached the officers “calmly and slowly” to tell them that children in the neighborhood would soon be arriving at an adjacent bus stop. The lawsuit says no officer was in Jimenez’s path when he was shot and that there was no reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop, threaten or shoot him.

The complaint says the officer, later identified as Eusebio Ortiz, pointed his firearm at Jimenez’s face, cursed at him and threatened to shoot him if he did not leave, citing audio recorded on the officer’s radio. Jimenez complied and attempted a three-point turn because officers’ vehicles blocked him. The suit says Ortiz then fired multiple gunshots into the car without warning, hitting Jimenez in the back and right shoulder.

After the shooting, FBI agents followed Jimenez to a hospital and “interfered with his medical care,” the suit alleges, including pulling a nurse away and preventing him from talking to medical staff. The complaint says agents then removed Jimenez from his hospital bed, locked him in a waist restraint and drove him back to the scene of the shooting for an “interrogation” while a bullet remained lodged in him. Officers told Jimenez not to “ruin their vehicle” while he was bleeding and vomiting in an agent’s van, according to the complaint.

The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that Jimenez had “attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping” and that Ortiz fired “defensive” shots. DHS has repeatedly accused people of “weaponizing” their vehicles against officers, but The Guardian reported in July that most of the vehicle “assault” cases touted by DHS have fallen apart under scrutiny in court. The Justice Department’s charging document said Jimenez had “rapidly accelerated in reverse” toward an officer, and the lawsuit says the criminal charges were “fabricated” and that the criminal complaint included no statement from the officer claiming he felt in danger.

The suit further alleges that FBI agents falsely claimed two neighbors witnessed the incident and told an agent that Jimenez’s vehicle had enough room to pull forward without reversing. When Jimenez’s legal team interviewed those witnesses, both denied making those statements and said they were unaware there had been a shooting until they saw news reports, the lawsuit says.

As the criminal case proceeded, Jimenez’s defense lawyers sought access to officers’ text messages, and in May a judge ordered the government to produce records of agents’ communications. Prosecutors then agreed to resolve the case through “diversion,” which would allow the charges to be dropped at the end of October if Jimenez abided by certain conditions. Ciaran McEvoy, a Justice Department spokesperson in Los Angeles, did not comment on the lawsuit but said in an email that Jimenez “could have exercised his right to take the case to trial, but he instead requested that our office agree to resolve the case through a diversion agreement.” DHS declined to comment, referring questions to the Justice Department, and the FBI declined to comment.

Jimenez’s complaint alleges that prosecutors were trying to avoid the potential disclosure of communications and prevent the deposition of the FBI agent who allegedly fabricated witness statements. The lawsuit seeks damages for lost wages and medical expenses, saying Jimenez still has bullet fragments lodged near his lung, and it alleges excessive force, assault, false arrest and other violations.

Francisco Longoria, a Southern California man, was shot by ICE last year during a traffic stop and later faced criminal charges that were dropped. The Justice Department in Los Angeles has prosecuted 113 people for alleged crimes against immigration officers since last spring, and The Guardian found that as of mid-September, 33 of them had charges dismissed and nine had been acquitted by juries.

A photograph published with The Guardian’s report shows ICE agents standing guard outside a government center in Ventura County in July 2026. Photograph: Blake Fagan/AFP/Getty Images.