08.10.07
Mexico: latest border shooting 'excessive use of force'
http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=6917334&nav=AbC0
Aug 10, 2007 11:10 PM EDT

EL PASO, TX - Mexican authorities are calling Wednesday night's fatal shooting of an alleged human smuggler by a Border Patrol agent an "excessive use of force."

The incident happened along the Border Highway near the intersection of Delta and Cypress streets, east of Bowie High School. A Border Patrol agent confronted three men and a woman on the American side of the border, officials say. When he proceeded to take the woman into custody, the agent was allegedly threatened by man who was smuggling the group into the U.S.

According to the agent, 23-year-old Jose Alejandro Ortiz Castillo threatened him with a rock and bolt cutters - at which point he fired his gun several times.

Ortiz-Castillo and the three men managed escape and returned to the Mexican side of the border. Ortiz-Castillo died as a result of the gunfire, Mexican authorities said.

The incident marked the third time this year Border Agents have been involved in a fatal shooting in the El Paso Sector.

Border Patrol Spokesman Doug Mosier tells ABC-7 Ortiz-Castillo had been caught crossing the border 28 times since 1999.

Friday, the Mexican Government issued a news release expressing a "firm protest against the use of lethal weapons in the face of situations that do not represent a proportionate risk."

Guillermo Reyes, with the Mexican Consul General, said his country is concerned about the use of deadly force when there is no real evidence the agent is at risk. "We are concerned about the use of lethal weapon in an extra use of force when there is not any reaction or circumstance that creates a real risk to the agents," he said, "it is not the same to have a gun compared to a rock."

Although Reyes believes every agent has the right to protect his life, he wants the U.S. government to launch a full-scale investigation into the fatal shooting - a sentiment also echoed by his government.

Border Patrol Spokesman Doug Mosier stated the investigation of incidents such as the fatal shooting are standard procedure at the Customs and Border Protection. "Every single incident like this is thoroughly investigated ... it will be investigated by the Border Patrol, the FBI and the El Paso Police Department," he said "these are thorough investigations and they leave no stone unturned."

Mosier also tells ABC-7 people need to wait until the facts about the investigation are brought to light to reach a conclusion. "That is what we would ask, not only of the Mexican government, but of anyone taking a look at the case," he said.

"We face these kinds of situations all the time - where agents are being assaulted more often than ever before," said Mosier, revealing that more than 60 assaults on Border Patrol agents have occurred this year in the El Paso sector. The figure represents a 25% increase from last year, he said.

Both Mosier and Reyes believe the U.S. and Mexico have to work together to get to the bottom of the incident and make sure similar incidents do not happen again. "This is not a conflict between the U.S. and Mexico...but, when you have two or three incidents in a very short time, we need to find out what is happening," said Reyes. "I think each community needs each other in times like these, because the fact of the matter is, it is one border community when it comes to issues like these," said Mosier.

The Border Network for Human Rights has scheduled a vigil for Friday night at the Border Patrol headquarters on Montana to demand answers in regards to the shooting.

In the end, Mosier stands by the decision of the agent and believes all evidence will reveal he acted in self-defense. "They understand they can only use deadly force in times of protecting their life, the life of a partner or life of another party...they have to be able to do that," he said.