The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona have declined to charge Border Patrol (BP) agents for the fatal shooting of Raymond Mattia, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, according to tribal leadership.

The statement from the Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon M. Jose and the Tohono O’odham Nation Chairwoman Carla L. Johnson criticized the decision not to press charges as a “travesty of justice.” Jose and Johnson went on to state:

There are countless questions left unanswered by this decision. As a result, we cannot and will not accept the US Attorney’s decision. On the contrary, we stand by the Mattia family, and all the O’odham citizens in seeking justice. Members of the Tohono O’odham Nation should not have to worry that their lives could be randomly cut short by federal agents acting on Tohono O’odham sovereign land.

The US Attorney’s Office responded to the criticism, telling the Intercept in a statement that the office had met with Mattia’s family:

The employees explained our conclusion in the criminal investigation — that the agents’ use of force under the facts and circumstances presented in this case does not rise to the level of a federal criminal civil rights violation or a criminal violation assimilated under Arizona law — and addressed questions posed by the family and the lawyers. We decline to comment more specifically on the meeting between the family and the Department employees: victims have an inherent right to speak with the press, and to criticize their government.

The shooting of Mattia occurred on May 18 on Tohono O’odham tribal land. JURIST has reviewed body camera footage, 911 audio and radio conversations between BP agents released by the BP. The footage and audio are not linked to this story out of respect for the Mattia family. The incident began when someone called 911 to report hearing gunfire in the area. The agents then drove to Mattia’s home, where he was standing outside. Mattia threw an object toward the agents, which has since been alleged to be a sheathed machete. Officers then ordered Mattia to surrender, followed immediately by a volley of gunshots from what has since been alleged to be at least three officers, according to BP. The video appears to show that Mattia is unarmed at the moment the agents begin firing. The autopsy report released after the incident confirmed that Mattia was shot nine times.

Police brutality is hard to track in the US. However, 2016 data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that indigenous people accounted for 11% of deaths due to police brutality between 2009 and 2012, a disproportionality high number as compared to the overall indigenous population in the US, which is only about 2.6% according to the 2021 US Census.