U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for the very first time, released body-worn camera footage of a shooting incident from March 14, 2023. In the video, a Border Patrol agent is observed attempting to detain a suspected human smuggler at the conclusion of a high-speed pursuit that took place north of Sasabe, Arizona. The shooting highlights the potential for deadly consequences in the daily struggle to stop migrant smuggling along the southwest border.
In an agency-released statement, CBP described the incident as it unfolded on March 14, 2023. Beginning at approximately 6:18 p.m., a Border Patrol remote camera operator observed suspected migrants getting into a BMW sedan near the Port of Entry at Sasabe.
The first two minutes of the video contained no audio due to normal buffering performance settings on the body-worn camera. The voice-over narrative and subtext captions are provided by CBP. CAUTION: The video contains images that might be disturbing.
U.S. Custom and Border Protection
According to CBP, two Border Patrol agents located the BMW on State Route 286 and began to follow it. The agents noted an erratic manner of driving as the vehicle sped up and slowed down. The vehicle’s turn signals were repeatedly turned on and off as well, according to the statement. Prompted by the erratic driving, the Border Patrol agents attempted to stop the vehicle to further investigate.
At 6:34 p.m., a pursuit began after the BMW failed to yield to the Border Patrol vehicle’s emergency lights. The pursuit continued onto an unpaved roadway near marker 20 on State Route 286. The shooting incident occurred when the driver of the BMW attempted to turn around on the unimproved roadway and continue to flee from authorities.
The footage shows the first Border Patrol agent who arrives positions his vehicle behind the suspect vehicle and exits to approach the BMW. The agent, using his collapsible baton, breaks the rear and front driver’s side windows of the suspect vehicle. The driver of the BMW began to turn the steering wheel of the vehicle as the Border Patrol agent grabbed the suspect’s left arm. As the driver began to back the vehicle up while turning the wheel, the Border Patrol agent drew his handgun and fired one shot striking the driver.
The video shows the Border Patrol agent immediately attempting to apprehend an occupant of the vehicle who jumped out of the front passenger seat. After running a short distance, that occupant ultimately surrendered to the agent. The occupant shouted to the agent, “I didn’t want him backing up into me, sir”. The suspected accomplice later told the Border Patrol agent to open the trunk of the BMW and confirmed there were people inside. After opening the trunk, agents discovered three migrants hidden within.
According to Customs and Border Protection, five migrants were being transported in the suspect’s vehicle, two in the back seat and three locked in the trunk. The suspected accomplice who fled from the vehicle’s front passenger seat was later identified as a United States citizen.
According to CBP, and not shown in the released video footage, two Border Patrol agents trained as emergency medical technicians rendered aid to the driver of the vehicle by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and using an automated external defibrillator. The driver, also a U.S. citizen, was declared deceased at the scene by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
The incident is but one example of the sometimes-deadly consequences along the southwest border as a result of rampant migrant smuggling activity. As reported by Breitbart Texas, four migrants were killed in two separate vehicle crashes near the Texas Border in a 24-hour period in June 2022. In October 2022, three migrants were killed when a suspected migrant smuggler lost control of his vehicle in Kinney County Texas.
In addition to the danger migrant smugglers pose to the migrants themselves, several shooting incidents involving law enforcement officers have occurred recently as the result of migrant smugglers using their vehicles to threaten the agents. In February, a female migrant smuggling suspect was shot by a Border Patrol agent near Eagle Pass, Texas after the suspect attempted to strike the agent with the vehicle. This was the second incident involving a Border Patrol agent facing imminent danger from a smuggler’s vehicle during that month.
The shooting incident remains under investigation by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The incident also faces review by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the DHS’s Office of Inspector General.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.