A Border Patrol SUV struck a Native American man in on Tohono O'odham land in Sells, Arizona. (Facebook)
A video that appears to show a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle run down a Native American man on a dirt road before fleeing the scene in Arizona has gone viral.
The video, shared to Facebook Thursday, shows a collision between the patrol agent’s vehicle and 34-year-old Paulo Remes, a member of the Tohono O’odham tribe, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Remes falls to the ground as he recites the vehicle’s license plate number and repeats, “They just ran me over, bro.”
Remes told the outlet he was outside looking for a speaker so he could listen to music when he spotted the vehicle and darted into the road because he knew the agent would try to hit him.
After knocking down Remes, the vehicle allegedly drove off with sirens blaring, and failed to check in on the man, who said he was treated for minor bruising at a local hospital.
“What I think he did was turn on the sirens to get away from the scene of the crime,” Remes said.
Border Patrol is reportedly cooperating with a tribal investigation, though it would not confirm an internal investigation.
A spokesman for the Arizona office told the New York Times it does “not tolerate misconduct on or off duty.”
The Tohono O’odham Nation has long butted heads with immigration agents, according to the Washington Post, as members of the tribe “commute freely between the United States and Mexico.”
Tensions have reportedly flared even further as the Trump administration continues to express desire to build a border wall, something tribe vice chairman Verlon Jose said last year would all but cut out members of the tribe that live in Mexico.
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