Thread: AZ: Man shot in altercation with Border Patrol agents

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/170253

Man shot in altercation with Border Patrol agents
By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.21.2007

A Border Patrol agent shot a suspected illegal entrant three times early Wednesday morning at a Rio Rico gas station after the man became combative and reportedly started throwing rocks, officials said.
The shooting victim, believed to be between 20-30 years old who has not yet identified, was in stable condition Wednesday morning with non-life threatening injuries after being airlifted to a Tucson hospital, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada. The man suffered a wound to his arm and a grazing wound to his torso, he said.
The encounter occurred shortly after 4 a.m. at the Pilot gas station/fast-food store just south of Rio Rico off of Interstate 19. Three Border Patrol agents were at the gas station on break to get coffee when they spotted a man they suspected was an illegal border crosser near the gas pump, Estrada said.
When they approached him to ask him questions to determine his immigration status, he refused to answer and became combative. At one point, he pointed his finger at them and threatened to kill them, Estrada said.
The agents, including one supervisor, called and asked for assistance from a Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputy, who arrived within minutes, Estrada said. He was there with the people involved for a few minutes but was walking back to his vehicle when he heard shots fired, Estrada said.
The man had reportedly picked up a rock and launched it at the agents, prompting the shooting, Estrada said. The deputy wasn't leaving the scene, but its unclear why he was walking back to his car, he said.
The male Border Patrol agent who fired the shots has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard agency protocol, said Gustavo Soto, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. The other agents at the scene did not shoot and will continue working, he said.
Agents have the authority to question people who they suspect could be illegal entrants during the course of their work, Soto said. He doesn't know what tipped agents off Wednesday morning about the man but said agents are often alerted by people who avoid eye contact, try to hide or avoid drawing attention to themselves. Sometimes, the interviews reveal the person is here legally, he said.
"Some people do complain but they know it's part of our job," said Soto, about the interviews.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office investigators, who are handling the investigation, were at the Tucson hospital Wednesday morning interviewing the man.
They have contacted the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, who will send a representative to the hospital to help determine the man's identity and his immigration status. He man carried no identification, Estrada said.
"We have lot of reason to suspect he was here illegally but we have to confirm that," Estrada said.
This is the second Border Patrol agent related shooting of 2007. On Jan. 12, about 150 yards north of the border between Bisbee and Douglas, a male agent shot and killed a 22-year-old Mexican illegal border crosser who had been apprehended along with six others and got into a reported scuffle with the agent.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation and has yet to release any more information.
Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector have been assaulted 63 times through the first four months of fiscal year 2007, 40 of which involved throwing rocks, Soto said.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of this situation. Assuming this guy is an illegal, I also hope that it will make the rest of his compadres take note that throwing rocks at a Border Patrol Agent is not a good idea.

It appears that illegals don't believe that they should be asked about their status and that it is OK to throw rocks at our agents. A rock can kill if it hits someone. Just as a bullet will kill only if it hits someone. We need the fence and not just cameras. Who is going to pick up the illegals or are we just trying to get a count so we can prove how many illegals enter the country.

Published: 02.21.2007
Man shot and wounded by border agent identified
DAVID L. TEIBEL
Tucson Citizen
A man shot and wounded by a U.S. Border Patrol agent this morning in Rio Rico has been tentatively identified as Fernando Ramos Cholio, 30.
He is being held under law enforcement at a Tucson Hospital with non-life threatening wounds and could face charges of threatening and assaulting a federal agent, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Antonio Estrada said this afternoon.
Estrada said the wounded man gave deputies a name, but, "sometimes, if they're here illegally, they'll give us false names." The suspect carried no identification, Estrada added.
Also, the man's nationality and whether he is here legally have not been determined, Estrada said.
Estrada earlier said deputies suspected the man was an illegal immigrant.
The man was shot before dawn today during a confrontation with three border patrol agents, Estrada said.
The agents had been staffing a checkpoint in Santa Cruz County and went on a coffee break about 4 a.m. at a gas station and market just off Interstate 19 in Rio Rico, Estrada said.
When the agents got to the market they spotted a man acting suspiciously near a gas pump, walked up to him and asked his name, Estrada said.
The man, who agents said appeared drunk, would not talk and began throwing rocks at them.
At least one Border Patrol agent fired at the man, hitting him in the upper left arm and grazing his torso, Estrada said. At least three shots were fired.
The agents called for help from the sheriff's department, and a deputy who arrived just after the shooting helped subdue the man, who remained combative and continued trying to reach for rocks, Estrada said.
Neither the deputy nor any of the Border Patrol agents were hurt.
The agent who fired the shots has been put on three days' paid leave, standard procedure when border patrol agents are involved in a shooting, said Supervisory agent Jesus Rodriguez, a spokesman for the border patrol here.
Rodriguez would not name any of the agents involved in the incident.
Rodriguez defended the agent's decision to fire by saying , "A rock can kill you . . . just as much as a knife or a handgun."
Neither Rodriguez nor Estrada knew how big the rocks were that the man was throwing.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/42670.php

http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/ ... 62f74.html

Border Patrol agents shoot combative man in So. Arizona

03:11 PM MST on Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Associated Press

RIO RICO, Ariz. (AP) -- A U.S. Border Patrol agent going for a coffee break at a truck stop in Rio Rico near Nogales shot a man who was about to throw a rock at him Wednesday morning, authorities said.


The incident happened when two agents and their supervisor saw a man hanging around the gas pumps at about 4 a.m. and went to question him because they suspected he was an illegal immigrant, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said. The man became belligerent, yelling at the agents and pointing his finger and while saying he was going to shoot them.


He picked up a rock and was about to throw it when one of the agents shot three times, hitting the man in the arm and grazing his torso, Estrada said.


The man continued to struggle with the agents and reach for more rocks while being subdued, Estrada said. He was flown to a Tucson hospital for treatment, but was conscious and expected to recover.


The agents had called for a deputy for help, and he was at the truck stop when the shooting happened. But Estrada said he was going back to his car to retrieve a flashlight when the shots were fired and did not witness the incident.


Estrada said investigators believe the man was either on drugs or mentally disturbed.


The unidentified agent who fired the shots is on paid administrative leave while the sheriff's department conducts an investigation.


Border Patrol spokesman Jesus Rodriguez said agents have the right to defend themselves.


"He had already picked up a rock and was preparing to throw it," Rodriguez said. "As you know, a rock can be just as deadly as any other kind of weapon.


Estrada said the man who was shot is about 30 and gave his name as Fernando Ramos Cholio. It wasn't clear if he is a citizen or a migrant.


The sheriff's office will investigate the shooting to determine if it was justified. That report will be sent to the Santa Cruz County Attorney for review, Estrada said.


Ramos may face charges of assaulting an agent, Estrada said. The FBI will handle that part of the investigation.