Officials confirm migrant man died from Border Patrol agent gunshot wounds

Federal and local authorities are investigating the death of a migrant man fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent on a mountain trail in Cochise County a few miles north of the Mexican border.

Cochise County's Sheriff's Department reported the man's death in a statement released on Facebook Monday, but did not make clear what led to his fatal injuries. The man, who police presume to be an undocumented migrant, was later confirmed to have been killed by a Border Patrol agent.

The shooting occurred Saturday around 10 p.m., on a "rugged" trail about 30 miles north of Douglas, the Sheriff's Office reported. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released more details in a statement Wednesday. According to the statement, two agents from the Douglas Border Patrol Station Horse Patrol Unit responded to reports of possible undocumented migrants in the area and apprehended three undocumented migrants.

The agents saw another migrant who they said tried to escape. One of the agents followed the man and shot him — fatally — while taking him into custody, the statement said. 

The Arizona Department of Public Safety helped retrieve the man’s body Sunday morning. On Tuesday, the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office released findings of their post-mortem examination, which confirmed the man died of gunshot wounds fired by the agent.

John Mennell, supervisory public affairs specialist for the CBP in Arizona, reported Monday that the Cochise County Sheriff's office in partnership with CBP were investigating the incident and confirmed the Mexican Consulate was notified of the shooting near Skeleton Canyon in the Peloncillo Mountains.

Five men were also detained “for interview purposes and further processing,” and taken to a border patrol station, the Sheriff's office said. The Mexican Consulate later reported the men were Mexican citizens. The identity of the man killed was not released, although the consulate confirmed he was Mexican too. 

Civil right organizations raise concerns over Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams

This shooting comes less than a month after Congressional Democrats urged the Government Accountability Office to investigate the use of Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams within CBP.

The teams collect and process evidence from "enforcement activities and critical incidents" that may create criminal or civil liability for agents. Chairs of the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees asked the congressional watchdog office to review under what authority BPCIT operates, how the teams have been used, and who has oversight over them.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, was among the signatories.

The letter was prompted by complaints of civil rights organizations that said the teams are used to "cover-up potential misconduct" by agents.

"There can be no independent investigation of border agents with the involvement of the agency that employs them, especially if BPCITs are involved, as they usually are," Kendall Martin of the Southern Border Community Coalition said in a statement Wednesday.

"They are not neutral fact finders and their handling of any part of an investigation undermines it." Marin said. "The fact that the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is reportedly investigating is no solace given that OPR uses BPCITs to collect evidence despite the inherent conflict of interest. Until OPR ceases to do this, they are compromised."

According to the the SBCC, 160 individuals have been killed by Border Patrol agents since 2010, with 55 reported deaths from use of force, 49 in vehicle collisions and 35 from lack of adequate medical attention while in the custody of agents.

These numbers are disputed as they are tallied from media coverage and press releases. According to a 2020 report from the Government Accountability Office, CBP does not reliably report deaths of individuals in its custody. 

'We added a cross for the man'

The Mexican Consulate said they are monitoring development in the shooting and are working to find his relatives. They have requested authorities to investigate the shooting "in accordance with the law," they said in a statement Wednesday.  

"At our weekly Healing Our Borders Prayer Vigil, we added a cross for the man who was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent,"  Mark Adams, the U.S. coordinator of Frontera de Cristo, a binational Presbyterian Ministry located in both Agua Prieta and Douglas said in a statement to the Arizona Republic. 

"His cross will join the crosses of almost 350 persons who are known to have died in Cochise County — victims of our government's cruel “prevention through deterrence” policy."

Since 1998, more than 7,000 deaths of migrants attempting to cross the border have been recorded, with 2020 Humanitarian groups estimate the number of deaths in the desert to be much higher.

"The secrecy and impunity in which this agency operates is a public safety concern," Alba Jaramillo, SBCC co-chair and executive director of Arizona Justice for Our Neighbors, a United Methodist Immigration Ministry. "We demand accountability and transparency. We demand justice for this person's family."

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country. No Border Patrol agent has ever been convicted in an on-duty killing incident since the creation of the agency.

Reach breaking news reporter Julie Luchetta at jluchetta@arizonarepublic.com.

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