U.S. BP agent jailed for arrest of suspected drug smuggler

[VMI77]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... -smuggler/

"A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been sentenced to two years in prison for improperly lifting the arms of a 15-year-old drug smuggling suspect while handcuffed — in what the Justice Department called a deprivation of the teenager’s constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force."

"In a prosecution sought by the Mexican government and obtained after the suspected smuggler was given immunity to testify against the agent, Diaz was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses Ludlum in San Antonio. The Mexican consulate in Eagle Pass had filed a formal written complaint just hours after the arrest, alleging that the teenager had been beaten."




Unless this agent did something way beyond what's described in the article the result here is beyond absurd and outrageous. There shouldn't even have been a prosecution for this, much less conviction and imprisonment. The whole thing seems to have a very rotten political stench.

[philip964]

Upsetting. Is lifting a persons arms while handcuffed some sort of cruel torture. I'm not familiar with being handcuffed so I don't know.

Seems as if the BP has a sort of an impossible job, now made harder by the Mexican government (who can't keep its own people safe) and PA's on this side of the border.

Is there a secret agenda here?

[Middle Age Russ]

Words fail me. Simply amazing...

As so many of these sorts of stories do, this begs the question, "How did we get here?". Unfortunately there is also the related question, "How do we get get back to where we are supposed to be?".

Wow.

[Keith B]

As always, I am sure there is more to the story than is being posted. For BP Internal Affairs to re-open the case a year later after they initially stated they found no violation, I would think there had to be incriminating evidence that there was wrong-doing.

[i8godzilla]

It still took a jury to convict him. Based on the OP article, I would ask what were those people thinking?

[tallmike]

It still took a jury to convict him. Based on the OP article, I would ask what were those people thinking?

Knowing that a judge and a jury looked at the evidence and convicted this guy, I would say there is quite a bit of information that was left out of this article.

[n5wd]

Upsetting. Is lifting a persons arms while handcuffed some sort of cruel torture. I'm not familiar with being handcuffed so I don't know.

A very easy way to tear someone's rotator cuff, in either shoulder.

[wheelgun1958]

Remember Ramos and Compean.

[Bullwhip]

Upsetting. Is lifting a persons arms while handcuffed some sort of cruel torture. I'm not familiar with being handcuffed so I don't know.

A very easy way to tear someone's rotator cuff, in either shoulder.

I'vre never been locked up, one good friend who retired from police work told me they could not lift anybody by the cuffs, not even by the arms. They had to pick them up under the shoulders.

When I did some E&E training way back when in the army, we used boot laces to tie each other up hands behind the back. I can tell ya, you lift up somebodys' arms like that, they're going face first in the dirt.

[rm9792]

Upsetting. Is lifting a persons arms while handcuffed some sort of cruel torture. I'm not familiar with being handcuffed so I don't know.

A very easy way to tear someone's rotator cuff, in either shoulder.

Simple fix is to stay your butt home and/or dont be smuggling drugs.

[Dave2]

Upsetting. Is lifting a persons arms while handcuffed some sort of cruel torture. I'm not familiar with being handcuffed so I don't know.

A very easy way to tear someone's rotator cuff, in either shoulder.

I just tried lifting my own arms while holding my wrists together, both in front of me and behind... Either I have the most double-jointed shoulders in the world, or one of us is confused.

[tallmike]

Upsetting. Is lifting a persons arms while handcuffed some sort of cruel torture. I'm not familiar with being handcuffed so I don't know.

A very easy way to tear someone's rotator cuff, in either shoulder.

Simple fix is to stay your butt home and/or dont be smuggling drugs.

Wow... So, if you don't want the cops to abuse you then you should stay home? You do realize that if a cop handcuffs someone they are not necessarily guilty, don't you?

[rm9792]

Believe me, I know that quite well. However, in this case we are discussing the smuggler had 100% control over putting himself in that situation, If you are talking generalities then yes the cops havew no business abusing prisoners. I simply have no sympathy for a criminal who gets caught then cries foul when the officer does something wrong, hypocritical as hell.