Well then how is it that you and many others on this thread have come to the conclusion that the boy was guilty of rock throwing or crossing the border? Do you have any other clear cut evidence to show this or are your opinions influenced by the obvious bigotry displayed here?
I think you can safely assume that people here who really arent that upset that the kid got shot are assuming he was crossing the border, throwing rocks, and generally being a criminal. IF it turns out to NOT be the case, I also think you can reasonably assume thier positions would change. Or do you really think some folks here are totally okay with random shootings of innocent mexicans? If you do, I think that says more about your issues than theirs.
When you WERENT actually there, you kinda HAVE to make assumptions. And that pretty much goes for taking a stand on ANYTHING that happens.
If thier or your assumptions turn out to be wrong in the end BFD. Its a bunch of people on the internet arguing about shit. It ISNT some legal/afterlife ruling body that decides someones fate based upon random shit they pull outa their asses.
It really isn’t a bunch of people arguing about “shit”. Immigration between the two countries is a very big deal to people on both sides of the border. The amount bigotry and racism displayed in your country against us is enormous. So when one of our young man is shot by one of your policeman, people in your country automatically jump to the conclusion that the perosn at fault is the Mexican. And the hatred shown by many on this thread alone is all over the interent on other websites.
You don’t think its pretty clear that the cop wasn’t surrounded and in justifable fear for his life?
Unlike the normal citizen, a cop exercising police power does not have a duty to retreat, in fact he must (or should) stand his ground to enforce the law that he was given police powers to enfoce unless he cannot safely do so. With that said, the use of deadly force is supposed to be a last resort. It doesn’t look like he had his back up against the wall and was forced to kill the 15 year old boy.
If a person is in reasonable fear of his life or personal safety, then yes, he can shoot someone who is in a group of people who are throwing rocks at him. Border agents have been killed in the past by groups of people who are doing things like throwing rocks, so the agent was in reasonable fear of his life. It’s possible that he was even aiming at someone else.
Throwing rocks at armed people is STUPID. Being in a group of people who are throwing rocks or otherwise assaulting armed people is STUPID. Sometimes stupidity is lethal. This kid just won himself a Darwin Award.
All the arguing in the world isn’t going to change the fact that this kid was in a group of people who were harassing and assaulting another group of people who were armed. It doesn’t matter whether the kid was Mexican or American, brown, black, white, red or yellow. Throwing rocks at armed people is guaranteed to make them consider defending themselves. If one group has rocks and the other group has guns…then it’s not a good idea to be in the group which has rocks.
Well it looks like it is time for me to go. I don’t need to be hanging around with a bunch of racist cocksuckers like the ones on this board so you can all suck my brown dick and choke on it.
Accepted and entered–I endorse tough AND FAIR enforcement of our borders, with as close to zero bigotry or racism as is humanly possible.
This is, admittedly, the very annoyingly thin line between “police” and “military” activity, considering we’re dealing with a border across which there is a tremendous amount of illegal traffic. I think Border Patrol absolutely needs more latitude than “police”, especially given the cites of Mexican police and military units crossing the border illegally upthread.
As I said above–I believe that every nation has the absolute right to defend its borders against ANY illegal incursion at ANY time with deadly force.
Funny how interested you are in absurd measures to protect your national borders in the “OMG US GUNS SMUGGLED TO MEXICO except not really” thread. Y’know, compared to this one.
Let me clarify–I don’t believe they should use that force in all cases, but I believe that the absolute right exists. In this case, we have cites upthread that the deceased is a known repeat smuggler and border violator–good enough for me.
There comes a time in every parent’s life when they realize that if they will never, ever use corporal punishment for any reason and their kid knows it, their authority will vanish. Similarly, laws have to ultimately be backed up by the willingness to kill people who use force to defy them. Huereka was the equivalent of a bratty kid kicking someone in the shins and daring them to do something about it. So tough shit.
Philosophically I’d disagree–I don’t think at any point the Border Patrol should retreat from anything. It sets a bad precedent–worse, IMHO, than the death of a known smuggler (although it should have been avoided if possible, I’m not shedding any tears.)