Border Patrol : USE OF FORCE Smuggling Vehicle

Use of Force Incident Leaves One Man Dead Following Pursuit of Suspected Smuggling Vehicle
Release Date Sat, 03/18/2023 - 12:00
On March 14, 2023, at approximately 6:18 p.m. a U.S. Border Patrol remote camera operator observed multiple suspected undocumented migrants load into a BMW sedan, approximately one mile north of the Port of Entry at Sasabe, Ariz. The camera operator transmitted the information to Border Patrol agents in the area via radio.

Two agents who were parked in separate marked Border Patrol vehicles near mile marker 12 on State Route 286 observed a BMW pass their location driving northbound and began to follow. The driver of the BMW was reportedly driving in an erratic manner turning the vehicle’s turn signals on and off and speeding up and slowing down.

The agents activated their emergency equipment to conduct a vehicle stop at 6:34 p.m. The BMW failed to yield, and a pursuit ensued. The BMW turned westbound Near mile marker 20 on SR 286 onto Brown Bear Canyon Road, and the agents continued to pursue the vehicle. The driver of the BMW turned the vehicle to the south 3.8 miles west of SR 286 at approximately 6:41p.m., while attempting to turn around.

Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility special agents reviewed incident driven video recording system footage related to the incident captured by body worn camera. The footage showed the first Border Patrol agent who arrived positioned his Border Patrol vehicle behind the BMW, exited his vehicle, and approached the driver’s side of the BMW. The agent used his collapsible straight baton to break the rear and front driver’s side windows of the BMW. The agent reached into the vehicle as the vehicle moved in reverse. The driver of the BMW continued to move the vehicle backwards as the agent attempted to hold the driver’s left arm. The vehicle stopped and the driver changed gears and started turning the steering wheel with his right hand while the agent was holding him by his left forearm, which was outside and below the driver’s side window. The agent drew his handgun and fired one time striking the driver of the BMW.

Border Patrol agents secured the six occupants of the vehicle which included one U.S. citizen who was sitting in the front seat and exited the vehicle immediately before the shooting, two undocumented migrants in the back seat, and three additional undocumented migrants in the trunk. Both agents, who were trained as emergency medical technicians, rendered aid to the driver of the vehicle by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and using an automated external defibrillator. The driver, a U.S. citizen, was declared deceased on the scene by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy on the driver on March 15, 2023. Further information on the cause and manner of death will be released by that office at the conclusion of their review.