Border Patrol Clears Agents in Shootings

The internal-affairs office for the U.S. Border Patrol has absolved agents of criminal misconduct in all but three of 67 shooting incidents on the border. Nineteen of the incidents resulted in death. In one case, an officer allegedly killed an unarmed 15-year-old Mexican boy who was throwing rocks on a bridge near El Paso in 2010. Criminal charges are still possible in three of the remaining cases that involve shootings, but for the meantime those agents are still armed and working on the border. Obama administration officials say they are working to restore trust in the agency. For instance, last month, Customs and Border Protection allowed for complaints against officers to be written in Spanish. Just last Monday, Matthew Klein, a former Washington, D.C. police officer, was named as the new head of internal affairs. Klein said he plans to bring the three pending cases to Justice Department lawyers in order to expedite the judicial process.