Illegal crossers beat Border Patrol agent
A Border Patrol agent was beaten unconscious after a rare fight with a group of illegal border crossers Tuesday night in a remote desert area west of Douglas, officials said.
The unidentified agent, assigned to the agency's Naco station, was knocked out for 40 minutes before back-up agents arrived.
The FBI is investigating the case. Susan Herskovits, spokeswoman for the FBI in Phoenix, said the agent was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in Tucson, where he was treated for a concussion and bruises on his back, neck and head. He was released Wednesday morning.
Herskovits said the agent was running after one group of suspected crossers at about 10:30 p.m. two miles north of the border near the town of Palominas, when a group of six migrants attacked him.
While the agent fought one attacker, another sneaked up from behind and hit him several times with a large rock, Herskovits said. The agent radioed for help before passing out.
The border crossers ran away, and no one was arrested.
Frank Amarillas, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, said it's unusual for agents to face such hostility from border crossers, who tend to carry water jugs, not weapons.
Violent confrontations, even shootouts, do happen, typically when officers encounter drug-traffickers.
"The regular illegal crosser usually isn't apt to attack Border Patrol agents," Amarillas said. "But it shows just how dangerous our jobs are. Such attacks may be infrequent, but we know we can encounter any sort of criminal activity."
Hernán Rozemberg
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 13, 2003 12:00 AM
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