Killing of José Rodríguez

Killing of José Rodríguez
View of the international border from the top of the U.S. Customs port of entry facility in Nogales, Arizona (January 2007)
Date 10 October 2012
Location Nogales, Arizona, USA
Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
Outcome U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Lonnie Swartz charged with murder.
Deaths 1

On 10 October 2012, at the Mexico–United States border near Nogales, Arizona, U.S. Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz fired 16 shots[1] at José Antonio Elena Rodríguez, killing him,[2] on the grounds that young men threw rocks at him and other law enforcement agents.

After the incident, the law enforcement agencies stated the Mexican civilians were trying to stop them from confiscating a shipment of contraband drugs as well as moving immigrants across the border.

Rodriguez was hit 10 times by the patrol officer's shots.[3][4][5]

Incident

Around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday 10 October, 2012, John Zuñiga, a police officer in Nogales, Arizona, received a call reporting "suspicious activity" on International Street, a road running directly along the border. Getting to the scene, Zuñiga heard from another police officer from Nogales, Quinardo Garci, that two men carrying "bundles taped to their backs" had climbed the fence into the United States. Identifying the bundles, on the basis of similar incidents in the past, as most probably containing marijuana, they called out for back up.[2]

After several Border Patrol and Customs agents arrived, they saw the two men scaling the fence back into Mexico, empty-handed and with nothing on their backs. They commanded the two men to climb back down. At that time, Garcia and Zuñiga stated in their reports that they saw "rocks flying through the air"[6] at the assorted agents and also heard "gunfire," although they were unable to identify its source.[2][3]

In the days following the incident, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency stated that

After verbal commands from agents to cease [assaulting the agents with rocks] were ignored, one agent then discharged his service firearm. One of the subjects appeared to have been hit.

The person hit was José Antonio Elena Rodríguez, a 16-year old resident of Nogales, Mexico. He was unarmed, standing on the Mexican side of the border on a sidewalk on Calle Internacional street, in front of a doctor’s office, below a sign reading "Medical Emergencies" in Spanish. He was hit from behind by 10 bullets.[4] The autopsy revealed that gunshot wounds to the head, lungs, and arteries killed him.[2][5]

Trial

U.S. Border Patrol agent Lonnie Ray Swartz was charged with second degree murder for the killing of José Rodríguez. It was the first time a US law enforcement officer was brought up on charges related to a killing that took part across the US-Mexican border, despite there having been a number of similar incidents in the preceding decade.[5][7]

In the trial, which began in late 2015 at the Evo A. DeConcini U.S. Courthouse, the defendant claimed he had used deadly force because Rodriguez "had been throwing rocks."[2] Although a witness testified that Rodríguez was not throwing rocks at the law enforcement officers, evidence showed that he was, along with other youths and men. Prosecutors acknowledged that Rodríguez was throwing rocks across the border but stated "he did not deserve to die" for this.[8] The U.S. Customs and Border Protection refused to release surveillance-camera footage of the incident.[8]

After the testimony by Emma Lew, the director of the medical examiner in Miami-Dade County, Florida, who stated that Swartz's first shot "likely hit the boy in the middle of his back as he was running," the prosecution rested its case in the trial on 5 April 2018.[9]

On 23 April 2018, Swartz was acquitted of the charge for second-degree murder; the jury was deadlocked on lesser charges.[1]

Aftermath

The judge presiding on the trial, Raner Collins, declared a mistrial. The head of the Tucson union for Border Patrol officers, stated, after the jury's decision was announced, that "justice was properly served" and that the union was "pretty happy with it."[8]

After the jury's decision was reported in the news, protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Tucson late Monday afternoon, and blocked off the intersection in front of it. Among those participating in the protest was the mother of Carlos LaMadrid, another Mexican teen who, in 2011, had been shot and killed by Border Patrol agents.[10]

Similar incidents

A 2015 review by the Border Patrol's internal affairs department reviewed 67 shooting incidents that resulted in 19 people dying, during the period from January 2010 through October 2012. The review found agents guilty of criminal conduct in 3 of the incidents. Two agents faced disciplinary action in the form of an "oral reprimand."[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Carranza, Rafael; O'Dell, Rob. "Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz found not guilty in cross-border slaying of Mexican teen". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Binelli, Mark (2016-03-03). "10 Shots Across the Border". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  3. 1 2 Carranza, Rafael; O'Dell, Rob (23 April 2018). "Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz found not guilty in cross-border slaying of Mexican teen". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 Yuhas, Alan (31 May 2015). "Justice for José? Border shooting of Mexican teen raises constitutional issue". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Burnett, John (9 October 2015). "In A First, Border Agent Indicted For Killing Mexican Teen Across Fence". NPR. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Perla Trevizo (2016-01-05). "Border agent's murder trial postponed". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  7. ↑ Davis, Charles (4 January 2015). "U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has Killed Nearly 50 People in 10 Years. Most Were Unarmed". The New Republic. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Mistrial announced for U.S. border agent linked to teenager's fatal shooting". CBS News. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Paul Ingram (2018-04-05). "Swartz trial: Defense struggles with first witness after prosecution rests". Tucson Sentinel.
  10. ↑ Carranza, Rafael (11 May 2018). "Border Patrol agent will be retried in fatal cross-border shooting of teen". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  • The Police Executive Research Forum (February 2013). "U.S. Customs and Border Protection Use of Force Review: Cases and Policies" (PDF).
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