FBI Investigates Killing of 2 Mexican Citizens by Border Unit

The FBI has launched an inquiry into the deaths of two Mexican citizens who were shot earlier this month by members of a special anti-crime squad consisting of San Diego policemen and U.S. Border Patrol officers.

Robert Watkins, an FBI spokesman in San Diego, confirmed that the agency had begun a preliminary inquiry into possible civil rights violations in connection with the shootings, which have focused public scrutiny on the operations of the Border Crime Prevention Unit.

The city-federal unit is dedicated to reducing crime against the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who enter the United States each year from Tijuana, often crossing treacherous canyons frequented by bandits.

Some critics have charged that the unit’s violent record--members have shot 44 people, killing 18, during its five years of existence--renders the protectors more hazardous to border-crossers than the thieves.

The San Diego County district attorney’s office, which reviews shootings by law enforcement officers, has ruled that each shooting by the unit that it has investigated to date has been justified. Authorities could recall no other recent case in which the FBI investigated a shooting by unit officers.

Marco E. Lopez, a San Diego attorney who represents the families of the two men killed in the most recent incident, has charged that witnesses saw both men being shot from behind as they were fleeing back to Mexico in handcuffs.

San Diego police reject his version of the shooting, contending that the two were gunned down as they attempted to rob members of the anti-crime unit. A police official said they were handcuffed as a precaution after they had been shot.

The attorney said the men were guides, not robbers.

The family of each man has announced its intention to file a $15-million civil claim against the U.S. government.

The two men were among a group of four armed with a machete and three screwdrivers, police said. Unit officers generally carry two weapons each, usually including semiautomatic 9-millimeter handguns and at least one shotgun per team. A Tijuana pathologist’s report indicates that both men were shot from behind.

The Mexican Embassy in Washington, citing the apparent “disproportionate (and) unnecessary violence,” sent a note to the State Department formally requesting a thorough investigation.

The border anti-crime unit has been largely inactive since the most recent shooting, which occurred Jan. 4, but police officials have said they plan to redeploy the officers shortly. Members are volunteers who serve four-month shifts, officials say.