By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
A Border Patrol agent who intentionally struck a Guatemalan migrant with his truck in 2017 – and called immigrants “subhuman” – was sentenced to three years of probation and supervised release.
Matthew Bowen, a 39-year-old agent stationed in Nogales, had faced up to one year in prison after admitting in August that he intentionally struck a 23-year-old migrant while arresting him for illegally crossing the border.
“I want you to remember this,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Ferraro told Bowen during the federal sentencing hearing in Tucson, The Phoenix New Times reports. “I can’t ignore the seriousness of this offense. Nationally, people are complaining about ICE and Border Patrol and the job that they do. Your conduct reinforces their stereotypes, and makes it much more difficult for your colleagues to preform their duties. It only takes one incident like this to really undermine things.”
Bowen also has come under fire after text messages surfaced showing he called immigrants “subhuman” and “mindless murdering savages.”
Bowen, a 10-year veteran of the Border Patrol, was placed on unpaid suspension in June 2018, shortly after he was indicted on assault charges. As part of a plea agree, Bowen resigned.
A video of the incident showed Bowen “accelerating aggressively” and striking Antolin Lopez Aguilar twice with the front of his truck. Bowen then arrested Lopez.
Bowen’s attorney, Sean Chapman, denied his client was racist, despite the evidence against him.
“There have been claims in the media that Mr. Bowen made racist comments about the immigrant community, and it’s simply not true,” Chapman said.
