Saturday, May 20, 2006
Driving While Mexican
Driving while Mexican can be deadly!
The Associated Press via The Washington Post reports that two federal agents shot and killed Oscar Abraham Garcia, 22, of Tijuana, Mexico at a border crossing stop.
The official government version is that the driver looked suspicious, a federal agent asked him to get out of his car, he refused, "put the petal to the metal" (to borrow our goober senator's favorite phrase) and "nearly pinned an agent standing next to the vehicle," which of course garnered the swift response of a hail of bullets from the border patrol.
The Mexican government called for an investigation Friday into a shooting by two federal agents that left one person dead at the world's busiest border crossing. A union representing the Border Patrol agent involved in the shooting defended the officer's conduct.Fortunately, there is "footage from security cameras at the border."
I mean, after recent news stories about the roadside bomb that was reputed to have killed some Iraqis back in November and is now under investigation, please forgive Howling Latina for being a little leery of the official government line.
In that incident, eyewitness accounts disputed the initial military version; and have told military officials that the Marines opened fire without provocation.
Here are a few lines from the CNN story:
Like the Iraqi soldiers who were poorly trained to gather intelligence, looks like border guards are going to need some fresh training; and told to not shoot at some guy who poses no lethal threat just 'cause they think he might be getting away.Citing an ongoing investigation, the Marine Corps said, "Any comment at this time would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process."
The Iraqi civilians were killed while troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines were looking for insurgents who planted a roadside bomb that killed a member of their unit.
At first, the Marines said the civilians were killed by a roadside bomb. Later, they suggested the victims may have been caught in a firefight.
An Iraqi human rights group, Hammurabi Human Rights Association, caught the scene on video, which was obtained by Time magazine. A criminal investigation ensued.
[...]
Last month, the battalion commander and two company commanders were relieved of their commands and reassigned to staff jobs at Camp Pendleton in California.
News accounts report that no guns were found in the sports utility truck that was stopped 75 feet from the border.
Hmmm, probable cause, anyone?!?
