When the FBI Shot a Bound Hostage

Podcast: Swear on the Stand · Daniel W. Swear

Opublikowano: 2026-10-21

This United States Court of Appeals case addresses a tragic hostage rescue incident where a federal agent accidentally shot and killed the bound hostage, Ulises Valladares, during a tactical operation in Houston, Texas. Following a bench trial, the district court found the government liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act and awarded substantial financial damages and attorney fees to the victim's family, concluding that the agent acted with negligence and that the government's sovereign immunity waiver applied. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit majority affirmed the lower court's finding of liability by deferring to the trial judge's credibility determinations regarding...