Wrongful Death Claim in SD Border Patrol Shooting

Richard Marosi and Richard Fausset
LA Times
October 14, 2012

The fatal shooting of a teenager suspected of throwing rocks at U.S. Border Patrol agents has prompted strong condemnations from Mexican officials and human rights groups amid a sharp increase in agent-involved killings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The suspected smuggler was shot Wednesday night by agents after they ordered a group of youths near downtown Nogales, Mexico, to stop throwing rocks, according to U.S. officials. Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, 16, died at the scene from several bullet wounds, according to Mexican authorities in the state of Sonora, which sits across the border from Arizona.

Under agency guidelines, repelling rock attacks with bullets can be regarded as a justifiable use of force in part because rocks have inflicted serious injuries on agents. But critics have grown increasingly vocal at the frequency of such incidents and what they call a lack of transparency in follow-up investigations. Wednesday’s confrontation was the third incident since September; at least 15 civilians have died in agent-involved confrontations since 2010.

Read full article

This article was posted: Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 8:08 am

Tags: domestic news

---

---

---

---