The military background of David Brouillette, the ICE officer identified by The Associated Press as the individual involved in the fatal shooting of Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, is drawing fresh attention.
Event Context
The shooting in Biddeford, Maine, has raised questions about Brouillette’s service history, law enforcement career and the Department of Homeland Security’s vetting process as the Trump administration expands immigration enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly identified the officer. However, AP, citing relatives and public records, reported that Brouillette acknowledged the shooting during conversations with family members.
ICE has declined to confirm his identity, saying it will not “confirm or deny attempts to dox” law enforcement officers.
Read more: Who is David Brouillette? ICE officer who shot Colombian man in Maine identified
Player Focus
Court records cited by AP show he later enrolled in a firefighting program at Southern Maine Community College. During training, he suffered a head injury after being struck by a steel beam and filed a lawsuit for his injury.
His lawsuit alleged he developed post-concussive syndrome, memory impairment, headaches, vertigo and cognitive deficits. The case was later settled out of court.
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According to military records reviewed by AP, Brouillette first enlisted in the Maine Army National Guard in November 2007 as a chemical equipment repairer. He later became a medical logistics specialist.
A 2009 article in the Kennebec Journal identified him as a private assigned to the Maine Army National Guard’s 152nd Maintenance Company in Augusta.
In January 2010, Brouillette joined the regular U.S. Army and trained as a human intelligence collector. Military records cited by AP show he deployed to Afghanistan from May 2012 until February 2013. He completed his Army service and left with the rank of sergeant in December 2015.
One immediate family member told AP that Brouillette had initially been rejected by military recruiters because of childhood mental health diagnoses. According to the relative, recruiters advised him to remain off medication for a year and then reapply.
He got selected the second time and was fully enlisted. The same relative alleged Brouillette’s combat deployment worsened his mental health. “Afghanistan destroyed him, trained him to be a killing monster, a machine,” the relative told AP.
Read more: David Brouillette: ICE officer who killed Johan Sebastián in Maine had troubled past; all you need to know
Following his military discharge, Brouillette held several public-sector jobs. According to AP, he worked at the Maine Correctional Center, later joined the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, and served as a police officer at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center near Augusta.
Public records also show Brouillette briefly worked as a truck driver, became a licensed Maine real estate agent in March 2025, and, according to his former wife Ashley Brouillette, joined ICE later that year.
ICE spokesperson Lauren Bis defended the officer’s qualifications, telling AP, “We will never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers.”
She added, “The ICE officer in question has nearly a decade of federal law enforcement experience with required training, including use of force training.”
