United States Imperial Valley Press Online: Border Patrol shooting prompts criticism

Cowboys in action ... With regard to the Border Patrol, this kind of reckless behavior simply meets expectations

Imperial Valley Press Online: Border Patrol shooting prompts criticism

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Officials here are concerned that actions by El Centro Sector U.S. Border Patrol agents endangered citizens as well as city employees during a shooting at the Calexico downtown Port of Entry on Monday.​

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Agents pursuing a vehicle suspected to be involved in illegal immigrant smuggling threw down tire spikes in front of the car as it headed toward Mexico and then shot multiple rounds at the car, causing it to catch fire. One of the occupants was wounded, and all three occupants were arrested. ​

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Calexico Police Chief Jim Neujahr said a policy in place for years, not just in Calexico but also in other border communities, restricts pursuits as well as the use of spike strips in congested areas to minimize danger to nearby citizens. ​

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“For Border Patrol to do this, the amount of people they endangered to try to catch a couple of people that are here illegally, is not a good trade-off,” Neujahr said. “We can’t have our citizens endangered just because of people that are minimal law violators.”​

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A driver may lose control of the car once tires are deflated, depending on how fast a vehicle is traveling, and the chance of wrecking the vehicle increases.​

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“You could send a car flying off and crashing into someone else,” Neujahr said.​

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Calexico Fire Chief Pete Mercado was also concerned about Monday’s incident. Calexico firefighters were called to the scene in response to a call that a vehicle was on fire at the Port of Entry but weren’t notified until they were already at the scene that shots had been fired.​