Border Patrol hit with abuse complaints
Source: Arizona Republic
Southern Arizona residents say Border Patrol agents are using excessive force, engaging in illegal searches and seizures, and stopping and detaining people without explanation while roving on patrols up to 60 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
... On April 15, about 50 miles north of the border, on the Tohono O’odham Reservation, Ernestine Josemaria passed a Border Patrol vehicle on Route 15 while driving toward Santa Rosa. She said the Border Patrol vehicle tailgated her into town and then pulled her over. The agents accused her of being a smuggler, pulled her out of her truck, twisting her arms, and handcuffed her. They searched her truck over her objections, damaging it. Josemaria, a U.S. citizen, said the agents never asked about her citizenship or legal status.
... On March 22, at the Fort Bowie National Historic Site in southeastern Arizona, Bryan Barrow returned from a hike to find a park ranger peering into his vehicle. When Barrow, a U.S. citizen, couldn’t immediately find his registration and insurance card, the ranger held him and called for a Border Patrol agent and canine. The agent and dog searched the vehicle without Barrow’s consent, damaging it. Barrow was detained for four hours without food, water or bathroom access. The Border Patrol denied a subsequent claim by Barrow’s insurance company, saying that federal law “bars recovery for property damaged by CBP employees while the property is under detention in CBP custody.”
In the spring of 2011, Suzanne Aldridge was pulled over while driving back to Bisbee by a man in plainclothes who didn’t identify himself. He questioned her aggressively, and asked to search the car. She said “no” and then drove about 1,500 yards to a more public parking lot. There, Border Patrol agents dragged her out of her car, handcuffed her and pushed her to the ground, she said. Her car was searched without her consent. She was let go without any explanation.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/20131008border-patrol-hit-abuse-complaints.html