LATimes Investigation: A Mexican Family Outing, Then a Deadly US Border Patrol Shooting Brian Bennett and Joseph Tanfani - The Los Angeles Times | |
go to original October 22, 2014 |
Guillermo Arévalo Pedraza, 37, was fatally wounded on September 3, 2012, according to his widow, Nora Isabel Lam Gallegos. Lam claims Border Patrol agents opened fire from an airboat on the Rio Grande, which serves as a border between the two countries. The gunfire struck Arévalo, who was picnicking with his wife and two daughters for a birthday celebration at a Mexican park along the river. (AllGov.com)
A Times investigation — based on the Border Patrol's Use of Force report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Mexican autopsy and police records, court documents and interviews with four witnesses — raises questions about whether the agent who fired from the boat overstated the threat from shore, and whether the shooting was justified.
Like other law enforcement officers, Border Patrol agents are only permitted to fire weapons under extreme circumstances — when they have a "reasonable belief" that they face an "imminent danger of serious physical injury or death."
Border Patrol agents fired their weapons in 960 encounters over the last eight years, according to Border Patrol records. Including Arevalo, 30 people were killed, with at least 10 of those in incidents alleged to involve rock-throwing and eight on the Mexican side of the border.
Read the whole story at The Los Angeles Times
This video surfaced depicting the moments after the victim was shot on Monday Sept. 3, 2012 on the Rio Grande. (Rubios Noticias)
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