20 Feb 2014
Border Patrol agent shoots, kills migrant who threw rocks
"A U.S. Border Patrol agent has shot and killed an apparently undocumented migrant who allegedly threw rocks at the agent, striking his face, on the California-Mexico border near San Diego, authorities said. A social justice advocacy group on Wednesday criticized the Border Patrol's use of deadly force in the Tuesday incident, saying there's a disturbing trend of Border Patrol "killings of rock throwers, some of whom were teenagers and some whom were U.S. citizens" on the U.S.-Mexico border, said Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego. The Border Patrol declined to comment directly on this week's incident, which is under investigation by local authorities, but in the past, the agency has highlighted how agents are seriously injured in rock-throwing incidents and resort to lethal force to protect themselves. Guerrero said, however, some police experts advise using nonlethal force such as pepper-ball guns to respond to rock throwings. "Border agents should adhere to best policing practices and only use lethal force as a last resort, not the only resort," Guerrero said." - CNN, Feb. 19, 2014.