Latino and civil rights groups Tuesday lambasted an off-duty Houston police sergeant's actions during an altercation on a Brazoria County highway, saying he confronted and shot "two poor Mexican workers" who were frightened and confused.
The League of United Latin American Citizens and the American Civil Liberties Union also called for full disclosure of the investigation's findings.
Brazoria County officials said they are embarking on an unbiased, thorough review of all facts.
The concerns surround the gunfire that happened in the Arcola area Sunday afternoon when Houston Police Department internal affairs Sgt. Tony Nguyen shot and injured Angel Villeda, 34, and Jose Antonio Hernandez, 33, both of Rosharon.
Nguyen told investigators he feared for his safety and that of his wife and children, ages 7 and 5, when their car was forced off Texas 6 by the men's van and went into a 360-degree spin. He reported the van then crossed three lanes of traffic and drove directly toward his car and him in a threatening manner.
LULAC officials said Nguyen was the one who became angry and said Villeda and Hernandez were not in any way aggressive toward the HPD officer.
"What concerns us here, there's a lot of discrepancies," said Sylvia Gonzales, district director of LULAC District VIII.
"It seems like this is a case of two poor Mexican workers who were on their way to work, and an HPD officer, off duty, got into a road rage incident when he thought these people were trying to run him over — when it seems from all indications he's the one who slighted them," Gonzales said.
Villeda was shot in the arm, while Hernandez was shot in the left leg. Both men were at LULAC's Houston office Tuesday, Villeda with his arm in a sling.
"At the moment the shots rang out, I was desperate," Villeda said through an interpreter. " I couldn't think of anything except saving myself."
Nguyen told detectives he shot at the men's tires, but the van continued driving toward him, so he stepped to the side of the van and fired more shots.
LULAC and the ACLU called for an independent investigation and asked that law enforcement release the crime scene video, reports on the incident, including HPD's internal affairs report, and Nguyen's disciplinary record.
The case could be presented to a Brazoria County grand jury for review later this month.