ICE officer in Maine shooting faces scrutiny over past

Relatives of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot a Colombian man in Maine say he had a long history of violent behavior and serious mental health struggles, raising new questions about how federal immigration agencies vet officers who carry guns.

David Brouillette, 37, shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on Monday while Durán Guerrero was in his car near his home in Biddeford, Maine, according to CBS News and The Associated Press. The Department of Homeland Security has not released the officer’s name, but said the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”

Three relatives who said they had spoken to Brouillette since the shooting, including an ex-wife and daughter, told the AP he said he acted in self-defense. Brouillette did not respond to text messages or an email seeking comment.

ICE spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement that the agency would “never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers” and that “the ICE officer in question has nearly a decade of federal law enforcement experience with required training including use of force training.” The White House referred questions to ICE.

Ashley Brouillette, his first ex-wife, told CBS News and the AP that she spoke with him on a Facebook audio call and that he acknowledged killing Durán Guerrero. Their 18-year-old daughter, Madison Brouillette, also told the AP that her father called her Wednesday and said he had shot and killed him.

“I don’t understand how he keeps getting these jobs where there are firearms involved. He’s a danger to society. He’s a danger to people and to himself,” Ashley Brouillette told CBS News. “And I just don’t understand how he keeps getting away with it.”

Ashley Brouillette said she divorced him in 2009 after he became physically violent with her following her pregnancy. She said he once threw boiling water at her while she was holding their child, an account her mother, Avis Collins, also recounted.

CBS News reported that Brouillette does not appear to have a criminal record in Maine, citing a check with the Maine Department of Public Safety. But family court records obtained from the Augusta District Court clerk’s office detail years of allegations of physical and verbal abuse raised by his second ex-wife, who was not identified by the AP because she fears retaliation.

In filings seeking temporary protection orders, the second ex-wife alleged that Brouillette stalked and harassed her and physically and verbally abused his daughter. In one 2021 application granted by a judge, she wrote: “Dave needs counseling or something for his PTSD & depression.” In court filings, Brouillette said his second ex-wife had slandered him.

Madison Brouillette told the AP she witnessed her father’s volatility, including once coming home from school to find him saying he had been sitting on a tree stump with a gun to his head. “If you don’t really, truly take care of yourself, there’s no way you can protect other people,” she said. “And with my dad, he never wanted to get help.”

An immediate relative, speaking anonymously, said Brouillette was diagnosed as a child with severe bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder, attempted suicide twice at age 12 and was hospitalized multiple times. Ashley Brouillette confirmed the diagnoses.

Military records show Brouillette served in the Maine Army National Guard from November 2007 to January 2010, then joined the regular Army as a human intelligence collector. He deployed to Afghanistan from May 2012 to February 2013 and left the Army as a sergeant in December 2015.

The shooting comes amid broader scrutiny of ICE hiring and use of force during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Al Jazeera reported that ICE said in January it had increased its manpower by 120 percent with 12,000 new hires. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “The Trump administration rushed 12,000 agents onto our streets without ensuring they were fit to carry a badge and a gun.”

At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump resumed the crackdown, CBS News reported. Durán Guerrero’s death came days after an ICE officer shot and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on July 7.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the reports “absolutely appalling” and said they showed the need for oversight. “This agent clearly should never have had a gun — let alone one provided to him by the United States government. And now a man is dead,” he said.