‘He was the first victim’
Family of local man killed by ICE agent struggles to keep his death in the spotlight
By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — Weeks after Keith Porter was fatally shot by an off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Northridge, his family says the most painful part of the aftermath has not only been the loss itself, but how quietly the case has moved forward.
Porter, a 43-year-old Black father, was killed on New Year’s Eve in the parking area of a large apartment complex in the 17700 block of Roscoe Boulevard. While the shooting was covered by local and regional outlets and referenced in broader national discussions about federal law enforcement use of force, Porter’s relatives say his death never received sustained national attention — even as other cases involving ICE agents soon did.
During a recent media Zoom briefing organized by Black Lives Matter Grassroots, Porter’s cousin, Jsané Tyler, said most early coverage of her cousin’s killing amounted to brief local news segments before public attention shifted elsewhere.
“It’s kind of hurtful,” Tyler said. “Most of the coverage locally and nationally has been on Renée Good, when my cousin had already lost his life.”
Tyler emphasized that her family is not seeking to diminish the loss of Good, a Minneapolis mother who was shot and killed seven days later by an off-duty ICE agent in a separate incident that drew national protests and widespread coverage. Instead, she said, the contrast highlights how unevenly cases can be elevated — even when the circumstances are strikingly similar.
“He was the first victim,” Tyler said. “He was a Black man and a father, just like she was a mother. I don’t want to take anything away from her life, but it says something about our society when one hashtag goes nationwide and the other barely registers.”
Tyler said Porter’s death was initially reported by Los Angeles television stations, including Channels 2, 4, 7, and 9, but coverage quickly tapered off.
“You’ll get a snippet — three minutes about the Police Commission, or about the family meeting with the district attorney — and that’s it,” she said.
Tyler added that much of the attention the family has received since then has come through advocacy networks, including Students Deserve, Black Lives Matter–Los Angeles, Black Lives Matter Grassroots, and civil rights activist Melina Abdullah.
After Tyler finished speaking, the meeting’s host offered an example she said illustrated that disparity, noting that a prominent Black activist in New York told her during a radio appearance that he was unfamiliar with Keith Porter’s case.
Together, the uneven media attention and the absence of publicly documented investigative steps have sharpened questions about how — and how quickly — accountability can take shape in cases involving off-duty federal agents.
As those questions persist, so do questions about how the investigation itself has unfolded.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the off-duty ICE agent said he responded to what officials described as an “active shooter situation” after hearing gunfire and fired after Porter allegedly pointed a weapon at him. Porter’s family disputes that account, saying he was firing celebratory gunshots into the air and posed no threat.
Relatives say there is no publicly available video of the encounter itself. The only footage they have seen, they said, shows police responding after Porter had already been shot, issuing commands for him to surrender or “shelter in place.”
Family members and attorneys have also raised concerns about whether standard post-shooting procedures were followed, including whether the agent surrendered his weapon at the scene, underwent sobriety testing, or was formally interrogated.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has confirmed that the Los Angeles Police Department is leading the investigation into Porter’s shooting
The District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division is reviewing evidence gathered by LAPD but has not provided a timeline for when that review will be completed or whether charges could be filed.
Recent court filings in an unrelated custody dispute have added to the scrutiny. According to reporting by multiple outlets, the filings appear to identify the off-duty ICE agent involved as Brian Palacios, though federal authorities have not officially confirmed his identity or involvement in the shooting.
Those filings include allegations of past abusive behavior and racist or homophobic remarks — claims Palacios’ attorney has denied, saying the allegations were previously investigated by law enforcement and child welfare authorities and deemed unfounded. The allegations are not part of the shooting investigation.
For Porter’s family, the combination of unanswered procedural questions and limited public attention has only deepened their frustration.
“This isn’t just about accountability in the legal system,” Tyler said. “It’s also about whose lives are seen, whose stories get amplified, and whose deaths quietly fade from view.”
Stephen Oduntan is a freelance writer for Wave Newspapers.
