Temecula Suit Asks Court to Bar Border Patrol Chases

Border Patrol agents in Southern California routinely engage in unsafe high-speed chases that violate their agency’s written pursuit policy, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed in federal court Friday by lawyers for the city of Temecula.

In the suit, prompted by a Border Patrol chase and crash on June 2 in which six people died, Temecula asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order barring Border Patrol vehicle chases in the city.

The request, however, makes an exception for cases in which fleeing suspects are deemed an immediate threat to human life.

The lawsuit asks the judge to prohibit Border Patrol agents from engaging in chases throughout urban areas in Southern California unless they comply strictly with the agency’s policy on chasing suspects.

“The failure of the INS to comply with its written Border Patrol pursuit policy . . . constitutes a systematic and administratively authorized pattern of governmental behavior which has resulted in direct injury to the city,” the suit alleges.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Lawyers for the city also alleged that the Border Patrol’s rules governing chases do not comply with either state or federal law because they do not require agents to communicate with city police officers during chases. Nor do they spell out conditions--geography, traffic, weather, nature of the crime committed--in which chases can occur.

The Border Patrol had no comment on the allegations, spokesman Steve Kean said.

But Kean did characterize the lawsuit as premature because Border Patrol authorities have been meeting with city officials to resolve the debate about its pursuit policy that has evolved in the days after the crash.

Four students, a parent and an illegal immigrant died after a stolen vehicle filled with undocumented immigrants crashed in front of Temecula Valley High School.

The vehicle was fleeing Border Patrol agents who began a pursuit near the Interstate 15 immigration checkpoint.

A federal judge is expected to rule on the matter early next week, attorneys said.