Thread: Evidence tampering by Mexican authorities in border shooting

Last Monday's shooting of Mexican 15-year old Sergio Hernandez

Evidence tampering by Mexican authorities in border shooting?

Monday, June 14, 2010
- Washington Times

Last Monday’s shooting of Mexican 15-year old Sergio Hernandez on the southern border by a U.S. Border Patrol Agent in El Paso follows the death of an illegal alien, who resisted arrest by authorities and was tasered. Both events have caused further consternation for law enforcement officers involved in handling illegal immigrants. However, the incident in El Paso has sparked questions as to whether Mexican authorities tampered with evidence following the shooting. Mexican authorities told the Associated Press one version of the incident on June 9. However, on June 11 Mexican officials told the AP a very different story.

In a statement, the FBI said the El Paso incident happened at about 6:30 p.m. last Monday. A U.S. Border Patrol agent arrived to help colleagues responding to a report of suspected illegal immigrants being smuggled into the United States.

The statement also says that the agent detained one of the suspects while other individuals ran to Mexico’s side of the border and hurled rocks at the agent.

More including full and edited video

Video shows border shooting scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa2LjgL4 ... r_embedded

EDITED VIDEO

*UPDATED 6/14/10 9:47 am

Last Monday's shooting of Mexican 15-year old Sergio Hernandez on the southern border by a U.S. Border Patrol Agent in El Paso follows the death of an illegal alien, who resisted arrest by authorities and was tasered. Both events have caused further consternation for law enforcement officers involved in handling illegal immigrants. However, the incident in El Paso has sparked questions as to whether Mexican authorities tampered with evidence following the shooting. Mexican authorities told the Associated Press one version of the incident on June 9. However, on June 11 Mexican officials told the AP a very different story.

In a statement, the FBI said the El Paso incident happened at about 6:30 p.m. last Monday. A U.S. Border Patrol agent arrived to help colleagues responding to a report of suspected illegal immigrants being smuggled into the United States.

The statement also says that the agent detained one of the suspects while other individuals ran to Mexico’s side of the border and hurled rocks at the agent.

"This agent … gave verbal commands to the remaining subjects to stop and retreat," the statement said. "However, the subjects surrounded the agent and continued to throw rocks at him. The agent then fired his service weapon several times, striking one subject who later died."

A particular question that continues to stay around, though, is why did Mexican authorities initially say a shell casing was found near Mr. Hernandez's body (on Mexico's side) and that the autopsy concluded Mr. Hernandez was shot at close range, but they later told the AP that the border patrol agent fired his gun from the U.S. side? Chances are, the existence of a video (edited and full versions posted here) of the incident brought a new dimension to the case that Mexican authorities could not deny:

According to a June 9 AP report last week: (all emphasis in mine)

“Hernandez was found 20 feet (six meters) into Mexico, and an autopsy revealed that the fatal shot was fired at a relatively close range, according to Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general's office. Mexican authorities said a .40 caliber shell casing was found near the body, suggesting that the Border Patrol agent might have crossed into Mexico to shoot the boy.

That would violate the rules for Border Patrol agents, who are supposed to stay on the U.S. side — and could open the agent to a Mexican homicide prosecution.

A U.S. official close to the investigation told the AP that authorities have a video showing that the Border Patrol agent did not cross into Mexico. In fact, the official said, the video shows what appear to be members of Mexican law enforcement crossing onto the U.S. side, picking something up and returning to Mexico. The official was not cleared to speak about the video and spoke only on condition of anonymity.â€

close the damn border.

Leave it to Holder to open a civil rights investigation into a law enforcement officer doing his job and in defense of a Mexican national who was not even in this country when the incident occured.

If we thought what happened to Agents Ramos and Campeon was bad, we may have seen nothing yet.......they sure sound like they're just itching to hand this agent over to Mexico.

Imagine if it was US agents that crossed the border, tampered with evidence, and tried to frame the Mexicans. There would be protests, marches, bounties, etc. I cannot believe how we bend over backwards for Mexico, when our country is being pillaged by their poor and uneducated.

leave it to this administration getting and taking its marching orders from someone else to destroy our border patrol and the borders.