Family of man shot by ICE agent in Biddeford hopes for charges, attorney says
A memorial for Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero at the intersection of Hill and Pool streets in Biddeford on July 14. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)
An attorney for the family of a Colombian man shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent last week said they have cooperated with the state’s investigation into the deadly incident.
Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, was in his car at an intersection in Biddeford on the morning of July 13 when he was shot by an agent, who was identified as David Brouillette by one of his ex-wives last week.
Brouillette, 37, has not responded to several requests for comment, nor have attorneys who have represented him in previous legal matters.
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The Office of the Maine Attorney General announced hours after the shooting that it was investigating the deadly use of force by federal law enforcement in Biddeford. Attorney Benjamin Gideon, who is representing Guerrero’s family, characterized the state’s review as a criminal investigation, saying in an interview on Tuesday that his clients have cooperated with the state’s requests.
Guerrero’s partner and his sister both have met with a detective from the attorney general’s office, Gideon said. They also voluntarily let the state search the car Guerrero was driving at the time of the shooting, Gideon said.
Gideon said that he has reviewed Guerrero’s documents and that he had work authorization and was complying with all federal processes. He had no known criminal history, Gideon said, and was known for his peaceful demeanor by friends and family.
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“He has no history of violence, or overreacting to situations, compared to the person who shot him, whose entire history suggests that,” Gideon said, referencing Brouillette. Two ex-wives have described, in court records and media interviews, Brouillette’s domestic violence against them. A relative also told The Associated Press that Brouillette had mental health diagnoses that should have disqualified him from the job.
Daniel Boucher, who lives in Biddeford and witnessed the aftermath of the killing, said he also spoke to Maine State Police, an FBI agent and someone from the Office of the Maine Attorney General on July 13, the day of the shooting. He said on Tuesday that he has not spoken with investigators since then.
State officials have refused to discuss their investigations into the killing and no charges had been publicly filed in connection with the shooting in York County as of Tuesday morning, according to a review of online court records.
Rebecca Stefansky, who works for the attorney general’s office, declined on Tuesday to answer questions, including confirming whether the office is considering criminal charges. It’s common for the office to decline to discuss criminal investigations or the possibility of charges.
“With a strong commitment to the integrity of this investigation, I can’t provide any information about the nature of our investigation or offer comment on work other agencies may or may not be doing,” Stefansky said in a statement.
Officials with the Biddeford Police Department and Maine State Police directed a reporter to the attorney general’s office.
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There’s also a federal review underway. Gideon said neither he nor his clients have been contacted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, which announced last week that it was looking into Guerrero’s death.
DHS has refused to release the name of the agent who shot Guerrero.
CRIMINAL CHARGES COMPLICATED
Legal experts say criminal cases against federal agents in other states are rare but have occurred for decades. Craig Futterman, who is the founder and director of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the University of Chicago School of Law, said such prosecutions are complicated.
Federal agents facing state criminal charges will usually argue they’re immune under federal laws that protect agents who are carrying out their duties and acting within the scope of their authority, leading to a “long and drawn out process.”
There are several state statutes that could be relevant to the investigation in Maine, Futterman said, including laws against homicide, manslaughter and battery.
In Colorado, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was charged in April with assault, after video showed the agent confronted a demonstrator outside a federal facility and threw her down.
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The woman was protesting the detention of a father and two kids who were going to school. ICE arrested the father, who had no criminal record, when they mistook him for someone else.
Seth Stoughton, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who’s an expert in policing and public safety law, believes the criminal charges in Colorado were the first announced against a federal immigration agent since President Donald Trump began his second term.
Stoughton said state and federal investigations into ICE activity differ.
“The state … is probably asking whether the incident complied with state law, or whether there was a potential crime under state law,” Stoughton said. “The feds don’t care about that question. They don’t enforce state law.”
Federal investigators may instead be concerned with whether an agent’s activity actually violated a person’s constitutional rights, or whether the agent complied with their training, he said. The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s office has not answered questions about the nature of its investigation.
PLANS FOR CIVIL CASE
Gideon said that his clients are hoping for criminal charges. He said they’re preparing to pursue a civil case, as well.
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“I mean, in addition to direct negligence — or misconduct — in pulling the trigger and firing the gun, there’s also negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent training,” Gideon said. “I think here, there’s very strong arguments to be made that, that hiring this person was patently unreasonable, given his background.”
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Gideon added: **“**He was not fit to be carrying a badge and a gun, and to be serving as an agent interacting with the public on the streets, or carrying out our policies of the government.”
Gideon’s firm, along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, is representing another man who sued ICE agents in April under Maine’s civil rights law that allows claims to be brought against federal officers. That lawsuit was amended Monday to include the identities of all five agents who Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz alleges violated his rights when they arrested him and detained him in Massachusetts in January.
“It’s an extremely important case from a legal standpoint, and it obviously has enormous precedential value for this case,” Gideon said.
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Tagged: attorney general, biddeford ice shooting, biddeford maine, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, public service
Emily Allen covers courts for the Portland Press Herald. It's her favorite beat so far — before moving to Maine in 2022, she reported on a wide range of topics for public radio in West Virginia and was. More by Emily Allen
Morgan covers breaking news and public safety for the Portland Press Herald. Before moving to Maine in 2024, she reported for Michigan State University's student-run publication, as well as the Indianapolis. More by Morgan Womack
Rachel Estabrook is an accountability reporter at the Portland Press Herald. Before joining the Press Herald in 2026, Rachel worked in the newsroom at Colorado Public Radio for 12 years. She's originally. More by Rachel Estabrook
