Fallen border agent Brian Terry honored

More than 300 attend memorial in NE Valley

by Dennis Wagner - Nov. 12, 2011 10:03 PM
The Arizona Republic

Brian Terry, a Border Patrol agent killed in the line of duty nearly a year ago, was honored at a memorial ceremony Saturday as a patriot, a hero, a man of honor.

"His memory is our eternal blessing," Gov. Jan Brewer said.

"This man committed his entire adult life to handling America's business," added Jay Dobyns, a federal agent who served as master of ceremonies.

Terry, a former U.S. Marine and ex-police officer, was killed Dec. 14 when his Border Patrol tactical unit got into a midnight gunbattle with banditos in a canyon near Rio Rico.

Two rifles recovered at the scene were traced to Operation Fast and Furious, a controversial federal gun-running investigation that allowed hundreds of weapons into Mexico.

Among those at Saturday's event was John Dodson, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who exposed the flawed probe in testimony before Congress.

Dobyns, an ATF agent, said he felt cheated that he'd never met Terry. Then he pulled out a whiskey bottle, took a swig and said, "Thank you, Brian Terry."

More than 300 people attended the event at the Scottsdale International Auto Museum.

Many of the speakers directed their comments directly to the deceased agent's mother, Josephine Terry, who came with about 30 family and friends from Michigan to attend the event, many of them wearing T-shirts with "Agent Terry" on the back.

"We're overjoyed. This is even bigger than we thought it would be," Terry's sister Kelly Willis said. "We're here to celebrate Brian, and that's what's happening."

Media received written instructions not to question the family about Terry's death or the political furor over Operation Fast and Furious.

However, Dobyns told Terry's relatives that they have an absolute right to know the full story of how he died.

Josephine Terry told The Arizona Republic last week that she holds the government partly responsible for her son's death. She said her family is contemplating a lawsuit against the government and has hired former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton, who already has taken action in U.S. District Court to secure family members' rights as crime victims.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Brian Terry is now "a son of Arizona" who gave his life in the state and that he may have been killed by weapons the government allowed into criminal hands.

He said Terry should be honored by a commitment to finding "the full and complete truth, and justice."

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