José Mejía Hernandez, the Arlington man whose attorneys are seeking a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his severe injuries during an encounter with federal immigration officers earlier this month, appeared at Arlington County Police headquarters Friday to formally report the incident as an alleged crime.

The action follows Thursday’s Falls Church News-Press report that Mejía Hernandez and his attorneys planned to appear at police headquarters Friday, Aug. 28, to present newly obtained evidence and ask authorities to investigate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers involved in the Aug. 11 encounter.

In a five-page letter delivered Friday to Arlington County Police Chief Charles Penn, attorneys from Gastélum Law and The Jurado Firm asked police to take a criminal incident report, assign the matter to a detective and immediately open an investigation.

The attorneys identify Mejía Hernandez as the victim and unidentified officers or agents believed to have been assigned to or operating with ICE — along with the operator of a government vehicle — as the suspected parties.

The attorneys say that more than two weeks after the incident, to their knowledge, no local, state or federal law enforcement agency had opened a criminal investigation into how Mejía Hernandez was injured, no crash report had been taken and no officer had interviewed him about what happened.

Counsel said they had been advised that the Virginia Attorney General’s Office would not begin an investigation until a police report had been filed, prompting Friday’s appearance at Arlington police headquarters.

According to the filing, Mejía Hernandez was walking from his Arlington residence to a bus stop on his way to work on the morning of Aug. 11 when two vehicles stopped near him. Two men wearing plain clothes, vests and a cap exited the vehicles.

The filing states that Mejía Hernandez did not see the men display badges or credentials and did not understand them to have identified themselves as law enforcement. Frightened, he moved away from them on foot.

His attorneys say civilian witnesses reported that Mejía Hernandez was then struck by one of the vehicles and was seen on the ground bleeding heavily from his face. Mejía Hernandez has no memory of the period between moving away from the men and regaining awareness in a Washington, D.C. hospital.

Attorneys say Mejía Hernandez sustained a traumatic brain injury involving intracranial bleeding and brain swelling, along with extensive facial injuries.

The Department of Homeland Security has disputed key elements of that account. According to Friday’s filing, DHS previously maintained that allegations Mejía Hernandez had been rendered unconscious were false, that officers rendered aid and that he was transported to a hospital as a precaution. Mejía Hernandez’s attorneys dispute that account and argue the conflicting versions warrant an independent investigation.

New Video, Photos Released to News-Press

As part of Friday’s developments, Mejía Hernandez’s attorneys also released videos and photographs to the Falls Church News-Press, which are included with this report.

The materials include images documenting Mejía Hernandez’s injuries as well as video connected to the Aug. 11 encounter.

According to the police filing, counsel also provided Arlington County Police with a copy of video recorded by a civilian eyewitness at the scene. The attorneys say the recording depicts Mejía Hernandez on the ground beside a government vehicle with blood on his face and shows the conduct of officers in the period immediately afterward.

The attorneys said the recording came from a civilian source who wishes to remain anonymous because of concerns about retaliation. Counsel said police were provided a forensic copy containing the original file metadata and that arrangements could be made for investigators to speak with the witness with appropriate protections.

The filing states that the material was provided to law enforcement before its planned public release Friday so investigators would have the evidence at the outset.

Attorneys Ask Police to Investigate Possible Felonies

Friday’s filing asks Arlington police to investigate whether the circumstances could constitute several offenses under Virginia law, including aggravated malicious wounding, malicious or unlawful wounding, failure of a driver involved in an injury accident to stop and render assistance, reckless driving, and assault and battery.

The attorneys emphasize that they are not asking police to conclude that those crimes occurred, but to investigate whether the evidence supports criminal charges.

The legal team is also asking investigators to move quickly to preserve evidence it says could disappear.

Among the requested steps are identifying and examining every government vehicle at the scene for impact damage or trace evidence; obtaining vehicle event-data, GPS and maintenance records; securing body-camera, in-car and cellphone recordings; obtaining electronic-control weapon deployment data; and preserving radio traffic and emergency medical records.

Attorneys are also asking police to canvass for private surveillance footage from businesses, residences, transit systems and doorbell cameras within five blocks of the scene, warning that many such systems overwrite recordings within seven to 30 days.

Civil Claims Also Anticipated

The criminal investigation request comes as Mejía Hernandez’s attorneys also prepare for potential civil litigation.

In a separate litigation-hold letter sent to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, Gastélum Law said Mejía Hernandez intends to present an administrative claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act and pursue other available civil remedies. The letter formally demands that federal authorities preserve evidence related to the Aug. 11 incident.

That demand encompasses body-camera and other recordings, government vehicles, electronic-control weapon data, use-of-force reports, operational records, communications, GPS monitoring information, medical-related records and personnel and training records.

The federal agencies were asked to confirm within 14 days that a litigation hold has been issued and that automatic deletion and overwriting of potentially relevant evidence have been suspended. Attorneys also want the government vehicles involved preserved in their post-incident condition.

Mejía Hernandez’s legal team has separately requested U-Visa certification, asking authorities to review the evidence and determine whether he was the victim of qualifying criminal activity and has been helpful or is willing to assist investigators.

Friday’s police filing asks Arlington County Police to provide Mejía Hernandez with an incident or case number, assign a detective from the Criminal Investigations Division, preserve the identified evidence and refer the matter to the Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

The attorneys have requested written confirmation within 10 days of whether a criminal investigation has been opened. If Arlington police decline to open one, they are asking the department to provide its reasoning in writing.

The Falls Church News-Press will continue to follow the case and update this report as Arlington County Police and federal authorities respond.