Decision in Border Shooting Questioned

The Mexican consul general said he is astonished that no charges have been filed against a U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot and wounded a 12-year-old Mexican boy, and said he questions the thoroughness of the San Diego County district attorney’s investigation of the case.

“It makes me very fearful of the implications of the use of force of those protecting law and order. . . . In similar cases, agents in law enforcement will be free to shoot,” Consul General Javier Escobar said.

Meanwhile, state Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp has announced that his office will look into the decision by Dist. Atty. Ed Miller not to press charges in the case.

Miller’s office announced Wednesday that Agent Edward Cole would not be prosecuted for the April 18 shooting of Humberto Carrillo Estrada. The decision was based on the district attorney’s conclusion that the agent feared for the safety of his fellow agents and was justified in firing his gun.

Sigrid Bathen, a spokeswoman for Van de Kamp, said the attorney general’s office has requested police reports of the incident and will review them before deciding how to proceed.

Humberto was shot once in the chest. He has since been released from San Diego’s Mercy Hospital and has returned home to Tijuana with his family.