Bwah-HAH!1 Border Patrol shoots at militia bozo "patrolling the border"!1

[UTUSN]

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http://www.themonitor.co/news/local/border-patrol-agent-fires-at-armed-militia
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/border-patrol-agent-fires-at-armed-militia-member-near-brownsville/article_b68b4ada-2fdd-11e4-a1c4-0017a43b2370.html?mode=image

Border Patrol agent fires at armed militia member near Brownsville

McALLEN (AP) — A Border Patrol agent pursuing a group of immigrants in a wooded area near the Texas-Mexico border on Friday fired several shots at an armed man who later identified himself as a militia member.

Border Patrol spokesman Omar Zamora said agents had been chasing a group of immigrants east of Brownsville Friday afternoon when an agent saw a man holding a gun near the Rio Grande. The agent fired four shots, but did not hit the man. The man then dropped his gun and identified himself as a member of a militia. Zamora said no other details were immediately available.

Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio, whose agency is involved in the investigation, said the incident occurred on private property and it appeared the man had permission to be there. He was not arrested, Lucio said. …

But Lucio said, "We really don't need the militia here." He recognized they have the right to carry weapons, but noted that with the Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement, there are enough agencies working to secure the border. Gov. Rick Perry also called as many as 1,000 National Guard members to the border.

"It just creates a problem from my point of view, because we don't know who they are," Lucio said.

This month, the Border Patrol warned its agents about militia members after seven of them dressed in camouflage and carrying rifles appeared out of the dark and began helping to apprehend immigrants around a canal near Mission. The agents initially mistook them for a Department of Public Safety tactical team.

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[Iggo]

1. "He was not arrested..."

So he was dangerous enough to shoot at, but not dangerous enough to be arrested.

Well, then!

[jwirr]

8. The border patrol was chasing people who were crossing the border when this guy pops up carrying

his gun. The border patrol officer took him for a drug cartel member and shot at him. I would have arrested him for interfering with the job of the border patrol. I think if I am not mistaken that the people he was chasing got away.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. "7 of them dressed in camouflage, carrying rifles appeared out of the dark and began helping "

What on earth is in their minds about doing this?

What do they expect the OFFICIAL guys to think at that moment?

If they are so gung ho to wear camo and carry guns and go after foreign people, let's send them to fight ISIS.

[arcane1]

3. This shows how quickly their anti-government bravado collapses

[petronius]

4. Looking past the general asshattery of these militia types, it appears that

an innocent person, legally occupying private property, with the permission of the property owner, was fired upon unnecessarily by a law enforcement officer. The BP agent seriously screwed up here...

[onethatcares]

5. if that same person

legally occupying private property with the permission................................, shot a person crossing the border, would that person be charged with 2nd or 3rd degree homocide?

If these people want to protect the border let them apply and train for border interdiction. Otherwise, keep their ammosexual asses at home.

[UTUSN]

7. "legally occupying private/permission" - fog of war. In the dark, not marked boundaries

I would say that official agents in the heat of pursuit without certain boundaries and with the possibility of armed smugglers would have the benefit of the doubt, with "doubt" being rampant. Even barbed wire fences could be invisible in the dark.

[petronius]

9. IMO, "fog of war" is not a justification or explanation that law enforcement

personnel should have access to, but it seems that too many LEOs like to use that 'uncertainty' argument to excuse excessive force or the deployment of military equipment or shots being fired. Whether it's a tea-bagger asshat, or a teenager on the street, or a couple of women in a pickup, or even the family pet, I expect LEOs to pull a trigger when they're certain of the necessity, and not before.

In this case, the militia dude could have avoided the situation by not being there in such a guise, and that's probably advice he should have received and followed, but the responsibility and the error of shots being fired at an innocent bystander is squarely on the shoulder of the BP agent. In my opinion from afar, of course...

[UTUSN]

10. *Not*being sarcastic or contentious,more so since yourDU handle is familiar for yrs, just differing

It seems to me that you are taking "fog of war" in a literal, military sense, while I intend it as any situation, of which military combat IS one, of personal danger, high stress and adrenaline, split second decision-making, life and death, and unknown factors thrown at you.

It seems to me, also, that you are speaking in generalized, ideal terms -- that "if I were king of the world" every official would know everything at any given moment and be able to react with perfection without any kind of misperception or surprise.

We are not talking about a generalized, ideal situation. Here is an official chasing subjects in the dark in a wilderness where property lines are not marked with neon lights and where there might be armed smugglers around, when suddenly some unknown, armed bozo in camo pops up.

No, it is not always possible to wait until "they're certain of the necessity, and not before."

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. The smell of fresh poop probably gave him away.

[tanyev]

11. I hope Mr. Militia brought an extra pair of pants along.