Border Agent Deadly & Excess Force Swept Under the Rug?
If you want to put a textbook picture of a police force with way too much attitude, a genuine contempt for average citizens they deal with, take a snap of the Border patrol officers anywhere along southern Arizona. Um, take that image from a stock photo or a long telephoto-A boy scout got himself threatened by an agent with his gun for taking a snap of a uniformed officer.
edit / updated (thanks Jose soto) as per this link,
Their whole approach is like a steroid taking Blackwater trooper having a bad day before you ever arrived. They can and do search people and vehicles without probable cause.
HT LA Times
…Mark Morgan, a former Los Angeles cop and FBI agent who now serves as head of internal affairs for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Friday he does not believe any shootings since 2004 have resulted in any punishment — though he said he was still researching the agency’s data.
Morgan said in a news briefing that a committee was reviewing 67 shooting cases, as well as 809 other complaints of excessive force or misconduct. He said 14 shootings — one of them fatal — had been flagged for “a deeper look,” along with 141 of the other complaints. Cases were pulled for various problems: witnesses weren’t interviewed, or punishments didn’t fit the offense, he said.
Related story: Border Patrol’s use of deadly force criticized in reportBrian Bennett
The agency has been criticized for a lack of transparency in shooting cases — the identity of the shooters and incident reports rarely become public — and for “a lack of diligence” in internal investigations that can drag on for years. Morgan said part of the blame lies with a complicated process for investigating cases, with responsibility split between three separate agencies.
“The process is cumbersome. It’s tough getting through that sometimes,” he said. He said he is working to streamline the system. Usually, Morgan said, his department doesn’t even handle shootings by its own agents.
More: Border Agents Rarely Disciplined in Shooting Cases, Official Says - LA Times
A few other instances of concern or abuse, from the ACLU
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Asks Federal Court to Keep Shooter’s Identity Secret in Killing of 16-Year Old by U.S. Border Patrol
Yes, the U.S. Wrongfully Deports Its Own Citizens
The Constitution in the 100-Mile Border Zone
Would you not expect our legal civil protections to go to the border and not come up 100 miles short?