VANCOUVER, Wash. (KATU) — **WARNING: The photo gallery contains graphic images of Wilmer Toledo-Martinez’s injuries**
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) condemned the Trump administration as she alleged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers released an “attack dog” on one of her constituents.
Wilmer Toledo-Martinez was lured out of his home in Vancouver on Nov. 14, Murray said, before he was “violently attacked and dragged away.”
The senator said Toledo-Martinez was attacked despite not resisting arrest or attempting to flee. His wife and two young children, ages two and three, witnessed the attack.
KATU News reached out to the man’s attorney and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), awaiting response.
Wilmer Toledo-Martinez was lured out of his home in Vancouver on Nov. 14, Murray said, before he was “violently attacked and dragged away”/Photos of Toledo-Martinez and family via Sen. Patty Murray
Murray criticized the broader deportation policies under former President Donald Trump, stating, “Trump is not going after violent criminals or the worst of the worst—he is terrorizing everyone, including U.S. citizens and their loved ones.”
She continued, “I do not want to live in an America where federal agents can sic attack dogs on peaceful residents with impunity and face no consequences.”
SEE ALSO | Gresham woman pleads guilty to arson outside ICE building in June
She emphasized for Toledo-Martinez to be released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, citing a lack of criminal convictions and urgent medical needs.
According to Toledo-Martinez’s attorney, ICE agents lured him out of his home under false pretenses, leading to the attack. His attorney discussed the case with Don Lemon on his YouTube channel on Dec. 5.
‘Or he’s gonna get bit again’
A video taken by Toledo-Martinez’s wife, shared via Sen. Murray, showed a man wearing a construction high-visibility vest while arresting Toledo-Martinez.
Another man wearing a badge around his neck is seen holding back a large dog. Someone is heard saying “you need to back up…or he’s gonna get bit again.”
Screenshots from a video taken by Wilmer Toledo-Martinez’s wife during his arrest/via Sen. Patty Murray
The man in the vest is also heard saying, “we are federal agents from Homeland Security,” and that they will take Toledo-Martinez to be seen “for medical attention” at the ICE facility in Portland, after his wife asked if they will take him to a hospital.
Toledo-Martinez’s attorney stated that the officers involved in his arrest did not wear body cameras.
Screenshots from a video taken by Wilmer Toledo-Martinez’s wife during his arrest/via Sen. Patty Murray
After being mauled, Toledo-Martinez was denied medical care for hours, Murray and his attorney said, eventually receiving stitches and medication at a hospital. However, he reported difficulties in obtaining adequate medical care during his detention.
Toledo-Martinez, who is undocumented, was brought to the U.S. at age 15 and is married to a U.S. citizen with three U.S.-born children.
SEE ALSO | Family seeks answers after ICE detains Vancouver man in alleged violent arrest
Murray urged for his release. “Every one of us must speak out against these kinds of human rights abuses,” she said.
Another case in Vancouver
This comes after another incident in Vancouver in which the family of a different man were seeking answers as his leg was allegedly ran over while being detained by ICE agents on Thursday.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that man “walked around normally immediately after without issue and received a full medical evaluation including multiple X rays that showed ZERO fractures, dislocations or injures,” in a post on social media.
She has not yet responded to KATU’s inquiry regarding Toledo-Martinez’s arrest and the involvement of a dog.
This story will be updated with statements from DHS and/or ICE upon the agencies’ response.
