ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA — A Southern California man shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last year has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the federal government, alleging excessive force, false arrest and malicious prosecution.
Carlos Jimenez, a U.S. citizen and father of three, says he stopped near an ICE operation in October 2025 to warn agents that children would soon arrive at a nearby bus stop. His lawsuit alleges officer Eusebio Ortiz fired multiple times as Jimenez tried to leave, striking him in the back and shoulder.
Federal authorities gave a sharply different account, alleging Jimenez rapidly reversed his vehicle toward an officer. Prosecutors charged him with assaulting a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Jimenez’s attorneys disputed that account and sought officers’ communications and other records. After a federal judge ordered prosecutors to produce additional material, both sides entered a diversion agreement. The assault charge was dismissed last week after Jimenez completed its conditions.
The lawsuit further alleges FBI agents interfered with Jimenez’s hospital treatment and questioned him while he still had a bullet lodged in his body. Those claims have not been proven in court.
The Justice Department says Jimenez voluntarily requested diversion rather than proceed to trial and notes that a grand jury had previously found probable cause to indict him.
The case now shifts from the dismissed criminal prosecution to a civil fight over whether federal agents used unlawful force and then improperly pursued charges against him.
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