By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
A Border Patrol agent who fatally shot a man near the order fence in Douglas, Ariz., used justified force, a judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge James A. Soto said Agent Lucas Tidwell was not liable for the death of a 19-year-old U.S. citizen during a March 2011 shooting, Tucson.com reports.
The death of Carlos LaMadrid prompted a civil lawsuit by his mother. The suit claims Tidwell was “grossly negligent” when he shot an unarmed LaMadrid.
The judge said Tidwell only fired his gun after rocks were thrown at him.
“A reasonable person in Tidwell’s position would believe that he was facing unlawful deadly physical force where rocks the size of softballs or bricks are being thrown from 15 feet away and 10 feet above you directly at your head at 50 to 60 miles per hour,” Soto wrote.
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