What you "will not hear" over the Brownwood Talk Radio Airwaves ! Why do Brownwood Republicans defend law enforcement coverups ?

Posted on Sun, Feb. 04, 2007

Remember: Honor first
By David Sedeño
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Over the years, I probably have encountered a couple of hundred U.S. Border Patrol agents in the course of my work along the southern frontier.

Some previously served in the military, others in law enforcement. Still others entered the agency after leaving their jobs as teachers or construction workers, or several years out of high school.

The pay is not terrific, the hazards can be many, and the agency frequently finds itself in the middle of the never-ending immigration debate. Yet these men and women get up daily, don their olive green uniforms and badges -- reminders of the oath they took to uphold the law -- and plough through their work under the motto "Honor First."

With few exceptions, I have been impressed with their dedication and commitment to dispensing and upholding the law.

I guess that's why I'm having a difficult time understanding why José Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos have become near-cult-like heroes for various groups and individuals who say that border enforcement is a joke and lawlessness runs rampant on the U.S.-Mexico border. The former Border Patrol agents broke the law.

And I wonder, too, whether the presidential pardon that is being sought for them by these groups is anything similar to the amnesty being sought for illegal immigrants by others.

If you're not familiar with the story, here it is.

On Feb. 17, 2005, Compean and Ramos were patrolling near Fabens, Texas, when they encountered a van driven by Osvaldo Aldrete-Dávila, who failed to pull over. After he stopped, Aldrete-Dávila got out of the vehicle, ran, went into a ditch and surrendered.

As he was coming out of the ditch with his hands raised, Compean tried to hit him with a shotgun butt and fell back into the ditch, where he had gone to get Aldrete-Dávila. That's when the van driver ran again.

Compean fired 14 rounds but missed. Ramos fired once and struck Aldrete-Dávila in the buttocks. Aldrete-Dávila fled into Mexico. The agents picked up the empty shell casings and disposed of them.

It was later determined that Aldrete-Dávila was in the country illegally and that he was transporting more than 700 pounds of marijuana in the van that he had abandoned. The agents were charged with various crimes, including assault with a deadly weapon, tampering with a crime scene and lying about the incident, among others.

Aldrete-Dávila was granted immunity to testify against the agents after federal prosecutors determined that no charges could be brought against him because the agents had tainted the crime scene.

The agents were convicted in federal court last year and appealed their convictions. They began serving their prison sentences last month. Ramos was sentenced to 11 years in prison and Compean to 12.

Lawmakers, bloggers and even the union that represents nonsupervisory Border Patrol agents are seeking a pardon. President Bush has been sympathetic but noncommittal, saying that the case must take its course.

Several of my various Border Patrol sources said that although they want to side with the former agents as a show of solidarity, they believe that the agents knew they had done something wrong.

"If you're a patrol officer, for example, and you come upon a crime scene, you have to stay away and wait for the detective who is trained to investigate," said a former Border Patrol agent and federal investigator who asked not to be named. "In the Border Patrol, it's the same thing. You have to keep the integrity of the crime scene or else it messes up the prosecution up the line."

U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton said his office had no choice but to prosecute even though Aldrete-Dávila was a drug smuggler.

"In America, law enforcement officers do not get to shoot unarmed suspects who are running away, lie about it to their supervisors and file official reports that are false," Sutton has said. "That is a crime, and prosecutors cannot look the other way."

This is a tough case, and I sympathize with the families of the former agents who are reeling emotionally and financially. In the end, however, it's unfortunate that the agents forgot about the motto that should have reminded them about the huge responsibility that their agency has to keep the border secure.

"Honor First."

David Sedeño is publisher of Diario La Estrella and a member of the Star-Telegram's Editorial Board. dsedeno@star-telegram.com 817-390-7322

source: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/16615500.htm
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Note from Steve Harris, Thank you David for putting the story into easily understood words and based with the facts. Maybe those readers in Brownwood will "get it now" ! Too bad Brownwood Republican Controlled Talk Radio listeners will not get to hear it. If you are in Brownwood listening to KXYL Talk Radio "The voice of Brownwood Law Enforcement" (as defined by Brownwood Juvenile Probation Officer JR Williams and KXYL Talking Head) you will hear current and former Brown County Law Enforcement officials defend these agents actions. They obviously have no problem with law enforcement coverups !
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UPDATE:
Report: Agents in Border Shooting Lied
Feb 7, 9:27 PM (ET)

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL and SUZANNE GAMBOA

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - A federal report released Wednesday on the shooting of a suspected drug smuggler by Border Patrol agents concurs with prosecutors that the men failed to report the shooting, destroyed evidence and lied to investigators.
Some members of Congress have criticized the case against Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who were fired after their obstruction of justice convictions and have each been sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison.
Congressional critics, who say the men were doing their jobs when they injured Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in 2005 near El Paso, had sought the release of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security report.
The report "has just emboldened our position because there is nothing in there that indicates these agents were not justified in shooting this individual," said Tara Setmayer, a spokeswoman for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. "This finally sheds some light on what these agents were thinking."
She pointed to a written statement by Compean in which she said reflects that he "clearly believed the drug smuggler had a weapon and feared for his life."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., agreed Wednesday to allow Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to hold a hearing on the case, as she requested.
"I strongly believe that the sentences in this case are too extreme, given the criminal nature of the defendant and his possession of large quantities of drugs," Feinstein said in a statement. "These men were given sentences that some individuals who are convicted of murder wouldn't receive."
The heavily redacted, 77-page report, drafted last year, offers few new details. It primarily outlines what Aldrete said happened on Feb. 17, 2005, as he tried to run from Border Patrol agents after trying to elude them in a van loaded with marijuana.
According to the report, Aldrete, who was given immunity and has filed a multimillion-dollar claim against the federal government, told investigators he was unarmed and was shot as he ran from Compean and other agents. He said he tried to surrender and ran again after Compean slipped while trying to hit him with the butt of a shotgun.
The report also notes that other agents on the scene that day could not confirm whether Aldrete was armed and initially lied about whether they were aware of the shooting. They later cooperated with authorities. Those agents, whose names were removed from the report, were not prosecuted.
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Rep. John Culberson, a Texas Democrat, said Ramos and Compean "may not have followed proper procedure following the shooting, which at most should have resulted in their suspension from the force, but not criminal procedure."
A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, whose office prosecuted the case and who has been widely criticized for pursing the agents and not the drug dealer shot, declined to comment.
Lawyers for Ramos and Compean did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
The former agents were sentenced in October and reported to prison in January. Federal prison officials confirmed Tuesday that Ramos was attacked in a Mississippi prison after the airing of an episode of "America's Most Wanted" that highlighted his case.
Rohrabacher and other supporters of the agents have criticized President Bush for not pardoning them.
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Associated Press writer Suzanne Gamboa reported from Washington, D.C.

source: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070208/D8N58LF00.html