Family of Indigenous Man Killed by Border Patrol Files Suit
Nearly a year to the day after an Indigenous Arizona man called police for help about alleged undocumented migrants trespassing on his property within tribal land and was killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents, the family has filed a lawsuit demanding action in their loved one’s untimely death.
On Friday, Raymond Mattia’s family insisted that Customs and Border Patrol take responsibility for the death they considered was unjustified.
In the lawsuit filed Thursday against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Mattia family demanded justice for each member who was affected by their loved one’s death.
“By intentionally shooting and killing Mr. Mattia without reason, Defendants’ actions were intended to cause harm, their actions were outrageous and intolerable, and they intentionally or recklessly disregarded a substantial risk of harm to Plaintiffs, Defendants’ despicable conduct resulted in Mr. Mattia’s death,” read the complaint. “Plaintiffs have suffered severe emotional harm as a result.”
The suit demanded monetary damages, relief in general and compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages against each of the seven family members listed as individuals of Mattia’s estate, and a trial by jury.
“Mr. Mattia’s killing should have been prosecuted criminally, but in the absence of Governmental action, the family is now filing suit to hold [CBP] accountable in court,” a statement from Mattia family attorneys read ahead of the presser. “The body camera footage plainly shows that Mr. Mattia posed no threat to the officers and there was no justification to shoot, much less shoot over three dozen rounds. Mr. Mattia’s death is a tragedy that harmed his family and community greatly, and his family plans to hold Border Patrol accountable for the outrageous killing of their beloved family member.”
The Mattia family suggested in November that they planned to file a lawsuit for $15 million.
“If [Customs and Border Patrol] is unwilling to reach a just settlement with the Mattia family, they plan to file a civil rights lawsuit in district court and pursue their claims to the fullest extent of the law,” the family’s legal team issued in a tort claim.
On the night of May 18, 2023, the Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department—roughly two hours outside of Tucson—requested help from Border Patrol after receiving a call about gunshots. Mattia, who lived on the reservation, had previously complained about migrants crossing through his property.
During a previous interview with The Daily Beast, Mattia’s niece, Lisa Mattia, said the family thought the migrants weren’t seeking asylum but were, instead, trying to peddle drugs into the U.S. Other members of the Mattia family also had property on the reservation and said they would find discarded clothes from the migrants, who the Mattia family said wore special shoes to keep their footsteps from being tracked in the desert.
Family of Indigenous Man Killed by Cops Demands Answers
However, instead of finding migrants, bodycam footage of the incident shows Border Patrol agents and a police officer searching the property until they find Mattia outside his house with a machete. Officers tell Mattia to put down the weapon, he tosses it towards them, and dozens of shots instantly fire. Officers continue shouting directions at Mattia not to move.
According to Border Patrol, agents were called due to reports of gunshots and were looking for a possible suspect.
The Mattia family believe nearly 40 gunshots were fired, and nine of them hit their loved one that night. Mattia, 58, was pronounced dead at a local hospital, and officers involved were placed on administrative leave.
“A lot of the Border Patrol out there have military backgrounds,” Lisa previously told The Daily Beast. “They’re coming from a warzone. Are they trained that they’re going to another warzone, that is the reservation?”
The Mattia family consistently tried to get answers, but they claimed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona kept giving them the run-around.
“Is it because we’re Native American we don’t deserve answers?” Lisa asked at the time. “We want justice for Ray. We still want questions answered. … We want to know why they approached him with the vulgarity they did. It looks like they were in a war zone and looks like they weren’t going there to be tactical. They weren't going in there with any kind of organization; it was messy. It was chaotic, and we want to know why.”
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