Senator calls for release of man detained by federal agents after he was attacked by a patrol dog
By Cindy Von Quednow, Caroll Alvarado, Jillian Sykes, CNN
(CNN) — A Washington state man was attacked by a patrol dog while being detained by Customs and Border Patrol agents last month as his wife and young children looked on, said Senator Patty Murray, who is calling for the man’s release.
The man, Wilmer Toledo-Martinez, was “violently attacked and dragged away,” Murray said.
The senator posted images of Toledo-Martinez and the bloody wounds along his arm, back and side on social media.
The November 14 incident in Vancouver, Washington, occurred as the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on immigration has led to an escalation in federal agents’ tactics on the ground.
Toledo-Martinez, 28, resisted arrest and tried to flee during the encounter with agents, the Department of Homeland Security said in a post on X in response to Sen. Murray’s comments.
He was described by DHS as undocumented and having prior arrests for being in possession of a loaded firearm. His attorney, Olia Catala, said two previous charges were dropped and the other two are going to be dropped soon.
Additionally, Catala says her client was not resisting.
Video of the encounter taken by Toledo-Martinez’s wife and provided to CNN by Catala shows the aftermath of the dog attack, when an agent asks the wife to back up or he will be “bit again.”
A man wearing a yellow vest can be seen in the video among the agents taking Toledo-Martinez into custody.
It is unclear what led to the dog attack or Toledo-Martinez being detained, and the attack was not caught on camera. There was no warrant for the detainment, Catala said.
Toledo-Martinez, who is originally from Mexico, had just returned home from dropping off his child at school when he heard a knock on the door, according to the attorney. Upon opening the door, he was met by a man wearing a yellow vest who Catala alleges told her client he’d hit Toledo-Martinez’s parked car.
He then asked Toledo-Martinez to step out and verify that the affected car belonged to him, according to Catala.
Once outside, the man asked Toledo-Martinez for his name, Catala said. Unaware he was speaking with a federal agent, Toledo-Martinez told the man he was going back inside to get his ID and insurance information, the attorney said.
The next thing he knew, the dog was on top of him and biting him, Catala said.
According to Catala, Toledo-Martinez only knew he was speaking with a federal agent after he was detained.
“We’re federal agents from Homeland Security, you understand that?” one agent says in the video.
In the video, the wife is heard asking the agents if her car was hit. “So did you hit my car so I can at least let my insurance know,” she asks. One of the agents responds “No” repeatedly, the video shows.
One of the agents says in the video that Toledo-Martinez needs to get medical attention and will be taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.
DHS did not respond to specific questions related to the incident, including the allegations made by Catala.
Toledo-Martinez is still experiencing pain where he was bitten and he has not seen a doctor for days, Murray said in response to DHS’ post on the incident Tuesday. Additionally, his vision is blurry, his arm is numb and he is having difficulty breathing, the senator said Toledo-Martinez’s family shared with her.
“I strongly reiterate my call for his immediate release so he can receive the medical care he needs,” Murray said in the post. “ICE will not let him see a doctor and are callously dismissing his concerns.”
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