The background information here does not make saints out of those on either side of the border. For years there have been regular incidents of large dense objects being thrown from people on the Mexican side of the border, over a 20 foot fence. Objects like "chunks of concrete, a three pound quartz rock", oft times these items came in "barrages". The boarder agents called these incidents "rockings". These incidents occurred on an every other day basis, for the most part. I found this information in an L.A. Times article dated 12/15/2015. The article reports that:
"In the last five years, three Mexican teenagers have been shot dead by Border Patrol agents who, according to the agency, were under assault by rocks thrown over the fence. The Border Patrol deemed two shootings justified, but in the third case, an agent stands accused of second-degree murder."
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ff-nogales-border-shooting-20151215-story.html
The teen's name was Jose. It seems he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was walking home after basketball practice. It was a few days shy of his 17th birthday. His family reports that he wanted to join the Mexican Army in order to fight drug trafficking. This killing occurred on October 10, 2012.
In an article in the Arizona Republic, dated 2/1/2017, it is noted that the trial of the agent has been delayed for "at least the fifth time". The original trial date was slated for late in 2015.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2017/02/01/border-patrol-agent-trial-2012-killing-nogales-teen-delayed-again/97366576/
Jose's Mother has brought a civil suit against the boarder agent, in the American court system and is represented by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). This civil action is the case that the Supreme Court is hearing arguments about today. As reported in an L.A. Times article on 2/21/2017,
"At issue is whether the Mexican family can invoke the Constitution’s protections against excessive force and for due process of law to restrain the conduct of the American agent, or whether U.S. law stops at the border."
Now I'm going to tell you what I think! The people throwing rocks and concrete are wrong, and in a couple of cases, dead wrong. Not in Jose's case, but possibly in the other two cases referenced, I simply don't know.
The response by the boarder agents is dead wrong. Yes, being hit by heavy projectiles has injured many of these agents. I completely understand the upset on the part of the agents. BUT, being hit and injured by rocks and concrete dies not justify deadly force. Jose was shot ten times. These agents are supposed to be trained to be disciplined to respond appropriately.
These "rockings" were a regular event. It is hard for me to understand why an effective, measured, responsible response had not been implemented..........you know, like a whole mess of tear gas. I'm not an expert on tactical responses to ways of fending off attacks with or without lethal force, but it makes sense to me that the boarder patrol agents should have been equipped with tear gas in addition to guns and should have been clearly instructed to use tear gas first and guns last. If using guns should be absolutely necessary, then shooting at the legs, shooting into the ground in front of the rock throwers should be the proscribed response instead of aiming at the core of their bodies. The response that occurred in this case is out of line, out of whack, crazy!
Let's reverse roles. If a Mexican authority standing on Mexican soil shot an American standing on American soil, for whatever reason, what do you think would happen? I suspect that it would be a full blown international incident. I suspect that many Americans would DEMAND, the Mexican's extradition. We, in America, need to take a really hard look at who the hell we think we are, because I'm here to tell you that we're just humans like all other people on this planet. We do not warrant elevated status and therefore the authority to act with impunity because we are Americans.
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