A federal lawsuit has been filed by the family of Raymond Mattia, a Tohono O'odham man who was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent on his tribal land in May 2023. The wrongful death suit seeks to hold Customs and Border Protection (CBP) accountable for the actions that led to Mattia's death in the Tohono O’odham community of Menagers Dam.
On the cusp of a full year since the incident, attorney Ryan Stitt told AZPM News that the family had no choice but to file, citing the government's inaction. "Mr. Mattia was a loved member of his community, and he was someone who did not deserve to die in front of his home for following the agents’ commands. And today marks the beginning of holding Customs and Border Protection accountable," said Stitt.
According to the released body-camera footage, Mattia was approached by agents responding to a shots-fired 911 call. The footage shows him surrendering a sheathed knife and, within a second of pulling his hands out of his pockets after being commanded to, he was shot and killed. Despite the visual account, the Justice Department previously concluded that the shooting did not break any state or federal criminal law.
Feeling dismissed by the federal government's lack of response to their intent to sue, Mattia's family decided to go forward with their case. "We felt that it gave Border Patrol, the United States, an opportunity to accept responsibility for clearly egregious conduct at the hands of Border Patrol. And they have not done that, their response so far is that Border Patrol did nothing wrong," Stitt said, as reported by AZPM News.
Yvonne Nevarez, Mattia’s niece, expressed the family's heartbreak, especially with the shooting incident occurring just after his birthday. "Being that it’s his birthday, brings us extra sadness, because it’s the eve of his death. The last time I saw my Uncle Ray was the day before Mothers’ Day," she shared with AZPM News.
The family's legal action includes eight wrongful death complaints under Bivens and the Federal Tort Claim Act, centering around allegations such as excessive use of force, assault, battery, and negligence. In light of the suit, a CBP spokesperson refrained from commenting specifically on the Mattia case or the ongoing investigation but emphasized that the agency strives to provide timely and accurate information regarding incidents involving death or use of force.
