Mexico Requests U.S. Probe of Border Patrol Shooting

The Mexican government has called on U.S. authorities to conduct an “immediate investigation” into a Border Patrol shooting at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego last Saturday that left one Mexican man wounded.

In a diplomatic note presented Wednesday to the State Department, the Mexican Embassy in Washington asked that the inquiry be conducted by an agency “independent of the Border Patrol.”

There was no immediate reaction from the State Department.

Michael Gregg, a Border Patrol supervisory agent in San Diego, declined to comment on the Mexican government’s request.

In the incident, Gregg said, four Border Patrol agents fired a total of 13 rounds toward a “mob” of about 30 rock-throwers who were positioned just inside Mexican territory in the Otay Mesa area at 8:30 p.m. Agents had just stopped a southbound pickup truck that was later found to be carrying 1,423 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of $2.8 million, Gregg said.

Mexican officials say one man, identified only as Rogelio Hernandez Alvarez, was shot, but is expected to recover.

The agents fired in self-defense, Gregg said. Border Patrol regulations permit officers to use lethal force only in an attempt to save their lives or the lives of others. “At this point, there’s no apparent violation of service policy,” said Gregg, who added that all four agents have resumed active duty. San Diego police are investigating.

It was the second cross-border incident in recent weeks that has prompted Mexican officials to seek a U.S. investigation.

Authorities in Mexico City also sent a diplomatic note after an incident at the San Ysidro border crossing Sept. 14. In that case, at least one Border Patrol agent briefly crossed into Mexico while arresting a suspect who resisted being apprehended, Gregg said. A struggle ensued that may have involved Mexican authorities, Gregg said.

Such cross-border incidents have long been a sensitive issue in U.S.-Mexico relations. In recent years, U.S. Border Patrol agents have shot and injured several alleged rock-throwers who were standing in Mexican territory.

The most sensational case occurred in April, 1985, when a Border Patrol agent shot a 12-year old boy as he stood in Tijuana near the San Ysidro border crossing. U.S. authorities said the boy was poised to toss a stone and cleared the agent of any wrongdoing.

Two years later, a federal judge awarded the boy and his family more than $500,000 in damages in a civil claim that arose from the shooting.