By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
An exhaustive investigation into the mysterious death of a Border Patrol agent in West Texas in November uncovered no evidence of a “scuffle, altercation or attack,” countering hasty claims by President Trump and other conservatives that blamed rock-throwing immigrants.
An autopsy concluded Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Martinez died of “blunt force trauma” to his head caused by an “undetermined manner of death.”
“To date none of the more than 650 interviews completed, locations searched, or evidence collected and analyzed have produced evidence that would support the existence of a scuffle, altercation, or attack on November 18, 2017,” said the release from the El Paso office of Emmerson Buie, a special agent in charge.
Martinez and his partner Stephen “Michael” Garland were responding to unknown activity on the night of Nov. 18 near Van Horn, a Texas town near the Mexico border and about 110 miles southeast of El Paso. Garland was seriously injured but has no memory of what happened. According to the FBI, Garland told a dispatcher, “We ran into a culvert.”
Shortly after the incident, President Trump tweeted, “Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt. We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!”
Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt. We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2017
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the incident “a stark reminder of the ongoing threat that an unsecure border poses.” Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the agents’ union, hastily concluded the agents were brutally beaten with rocks.
