Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The family of a Border Patrol agent killed in a firefight along the Arizona-Mexico is suing federal officials, saying the botched “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation put law enforcement authorities at grave danger, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit is the latest fallout from an investigation that allowed gun-smuggling rings to…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com When law enforcement agencies need help translating a language, they often call the U.S. Border Patrol for help. But under a new decree issued by the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol agents won’t be used as interpreters for local authorities, the Huffington Post reports. The idea, Border Patrol officials said,…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com U.S. Border Patrol agents rarely are held accountable over shootings, and investigations are done in the dark, an Arizona Daily Star investigation has found. In one case, the newspaper wrote that one agent-involved shooting has remained secret and ongoing for three years Scrutiny on the federal agency is increasing after several well-publicized…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Border Patrol agent fired his weapon 10 times at the driver of a car that hit him during a drug raid in Southern California, an autopsy released Thursday shows, the Associated Press reports. Agent Justin Tackett, who had been suspended four times for misconduct during nearly four years of working as…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Officials worry that cuts to the Border Patrol budget will weaken protection from drug smugglers and human traffickers, the Kansas City Star reports. The cuts will go into effect unless President Obama and Congress can reach a compromise soon to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, the Star wrote. Some experts said the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol agents are best known for protecting the border from drug smugglers and illegal immigrants. But agents in New Hampshire are on the hunt for something different this fall – Canadian hunters slipping illegally into the U.S. to poach moose, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Agents teamed up…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A former Border Patrol agent was sentenced in El Paso, Tex. to 51 months in prison for his role in buying guns to be smuggled into Mexico, the Associated Press reports. The sentence was part of a plea deal in which Ricardo Montalvo agreed to plead guilty to recruiting others as straw…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Two border patrol agents who opened fire inside a Maine home while responding to a domestic disturbance in June were justified in using deadly force, the state Attorney General’s office said Tuesday, the Bangor Daily News reports. Investigators said the agents, James Tierney and Chris Demanski, returned fire after the home’s 75-year-old…
