Death on the border: Family suing U.S. for “torturing and killing” Latino father at California-Mexic
Death on the border: Family suing U.S. for “torturing and killing” Latino father at California-Mexico line, botching investigation
Lawyer says Border Patrol's impunity after Anastasio Hernández Rojas' death on camera is "miscarriage of justice"
Ben Norton
Friday, Apr 8, 2016 06:58 AM CDT
The family of a longtime U.S. resident is suing the government on charges of torture and excessive force, but the case has gotten very little coverage in the American media.
Anastasio Hernández Rojas, 42, died after being beaten by U.S. Border Patrol agents in May 2010. The father of five U.S.-born children had lived in San Diego for 25 years before he was deported. He was attempting to illegally cross back over the California-Mexico border and was on the U.S. side, in hopes of reuniting with his family, when he was stopped by agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP.
Instead of re-deporting Hernández Rojas, the CBP agents brutally beat and tasered the 42-year-old father as he lay on the ground in handcuffs, pleading for his life. Witnesses captured video of the horrific killing, although Border Patrol agents tried to destroy the evidence, according to his family’s lawyer.
The San Diego coroner ruled Hernández Rojas’ death to be a homicide. The medical examiner said he had a heart attack and had been subjected to “bruising to his chest, stomach, hips, knees, back, lips, head and eyelids; five broken ribs; and a damaged spine.”
More:
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/08/death_on_the_border_family_suing_u_s_for_torturing_and_killing_latino_father_at_california_mexico_line_botching_investigation/
LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141407060
