Chicago woman files federal lawsuit over 2023 Border Patrol shooting
Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times by a Customs and Border Protection agent in Chicago, has sued the U.S. government, alleging the officer acted without justification and calling for criminal charges.
A federal civil suit was filed Monday on behalf of Marimar Martinez, a Montessori school aide who survived a five-shot incident involving Customs and Border Protection agent Charles Exum in October 2023. The complaint, brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act, accuses the government of negligence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
Martinez’s attorneys presented a reconstruction of the shooting based on bullet trajectories, vehicle damage and surveillance footage, concluding that Exum was not positioned in front of the car and that one bullet passed through the rear passenger seat. > "He was in no way, shape or form in the path of the vehicle. She was actually driving away from him, and we established that he charged her," attorney Michael Gallagher said.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Exif was placed on administrative leave following the incident but did not specify his current status, referring further inquiries to the Justice Department, which declined comment. The lawsuit also urges the Justice Department and local prosecutors to consider criminal charges against Exif.
After the shooting, Martinez and another individual were initially charged with using their vehicles to ram federal officers, but those charges were dismissed after additional video evidence and messages from Exif surfaced. Reuters reported that Exif had sent messages to fellow agents boasting about the shooting and referencing his firearms instruction background.
Martinez told reporters she is focusing on her recovery and the civil case, adding that she hopes the case raises awareness about the incident.