Union Head: Border Agent Was Killed By Friendly Fire
According to the head of a Border Patrol agents’ union,U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie was killed by friendly fire in Arizona last week.
The incident happened when Ivie went to check out an area that had a tripped sensor and came across his fellow agents that he mistakenly believed were armed smugglers. He opened fire, hitting one and they returned fire, killing him.
George McCubbin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said the agents approached the area in two different directions and ran into one another in heavy brush. McCubbin said he wasn’t sure what Ivie saw or heard that started the whole thing; but, the end result was his death and an injured agent.
Rod Rothrock, acting Cochise County sheriff, agreed with McCubbin about the scenario but declined to say if Ivie did indeed shoot first. He said the involved federal agencies would determine that.
Sensors are placed throughout the U.S.-Mexico border in order to detect illegal aliens or smugglers. When tripped, agents with the Border Patrol respond. The shooting took place in a hilly area near Bisbee Ariz, about five miles north of the border. This area is famous for illegal trafficking.
Rothrock and McCubbin said all agents involved knew the others were responding but had no idea they were close to one another. Rothrock said that at the time of the shooting, the area was dark and that the agents couldn’t see each other clearly because of the brush and cacti between them. He said the agents were already on high alert because of their proximity to the border.
Rothrock said each agent, when they saw each other, took defensive action, which might have been looked at as an aggressive posture.
After the incident, many agencies – federal and local – went into the area to find the culprit(s) responsible for Ivie’s death. McClubbin said initial reports from the border agents and other information suggested that other parties were involved. The government even had cooperation from the Mexican government to search for the suspects.
Online News Heard Now
Short URL: http://www.onlinenewsheardnow.com/?p=1309
Posted by