>>>
new questions over the actions of
border patrol
agents as they secure our nation's borders. disturbing new video has surfaced over an
illegal immigrant
being tased by agents in california. this happened last year, in
2010
, i should say. he was in the process of being deported when witnesses say he endured a beating by bored he agents that last for
30 minutes
. a reporter recently discovered eyewitness video of more than a dozen officers standing around while row has is being tased
over and over
. this is some of that video. the clip aired friday during a documentary on pbs. pasht of a join investigation. the pbs broadcast
need to know
and the investigative fund of the national institution. rojas later died at the hospital. one witness said she felt like she was watching someone being murdered. joining me, the
investigative journalist
who tracked down this video. thank you for your time.
>>
it's a pleasure. this issue is about this man and the circumstances surrounding his death. as you pointed out in your report, it is also about the
border patrol
and perhaps.
>>
this is a videotape that is 2 years old. there are no
criminal proceedings
. the
justice department
has remained tie lipped about this. as far as the
border patrol
is concern, they acted according to their protocol. there are no charges. in the video we clearly see there is a man handcuffed behind his back. he is also
hog tied
around his ankles. there are over a dozen
border patrol
officers. a taser is used five separate times on a man who is incapacitated on the ground. not only that, the man holding the taser keeps shouting to the man to quit resisting even though there is no resisting going on. that's probably intended for the crowd that is gathering all around. so as far as the
justice department
and the
border patrol
, this is
business as usual
.
>>
in your piece, you write with insufficient training and oversight perhaps it is no surprise that since may
2010
tlfb at least ten documented cases of unarmed and noncombative immigrants resulting in deaths. in this case, the family has filed a
civil suit
. i want to get the government's view. it says cbp employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction tirelessly to keep the country safe. we do not tolerate abuse within our ranks and we fully cooperate with any criminal or administrative investigations. you talk about how many new agents have been hired to monitor the borders and the lack of training in some cases.
>>
just in the last couple years we've double the size of the
border patrol
of there were about 11,000 in
2008
. now there are over 21,000. requirements were relaxed by the
border patrol
. you don't even need a
high school diploma
to become a
border patrol
agent.
background checks
in many cases were thrown out. high decker tests were stopped. we basically have a rookie forceful half the force of the
border patrol
has less than two years experience. so with little oversight and little accountability, all of the officers involved you mentioned eight killings in the past two years. aus of those officers involved, we don't know their name, their backgrounds. everything is tight limited.
>>
why is that information to be held? why can't that information be released or obtained?
>>
it is a great question. we would like to know why. as far as we understand, it is because they're under the
department of homeland security
banner. and they're treated differently than
municipal police
officers. so we're not privy to that information.
>>
government is saying in this case where this man was allegedly tased to death, that he had violent behavior, adding to the stress on his heart. that he had meth in his system and a preexisting
heart condition
are the things that government points to when responding to the
civil suit
filed, john.
>>
as far as the meth question concerned, the toxicology report shows the. a meth was negligible. it would not exacerbate any sort of a mood issue or contribute to a
heart attack
which is what he suffered from. as i said, he was tased five different times. he had five broken ribs. his teeth were misaligned. he had bruises all up and down his body and scratches. this man was handcuffed for over a half-hour and beaten by
border patrol
. so regardless of whether he was combative, i hope this is not
border patrol
policy, the way they deal with a combative person. he was unarmed in a secure area. he was in the process of being deported. and i'm hoping that at least 20 agents who were in this area can handle a single man who is unarmed and handcuffed chrg it does not appear they did in this case.
>>
what is next in this case. what is next?
>>
we're hoping members of congress see this and there is some sort of investigation. the
department of justice
is not forthcoming with any information. we don't know the officers' names. there are no
criminal proceedings
. the family has been waiting for two years for an answer from the
federal government
and has received absolutely nothing. we're hoping that members of
congress watch
this and push that stone up the hill a little bit further.
>>
thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it.
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