Man Shot By Border Agent Awarded $500K

A man from Mexico who was shot in the back by a Border Patrol agent in Arizona will be awarded close to $500,000 by the federal government. Jesus Castro Romo was shot by border agent Abel Canales in 2010 during a routine immigration stop in the desert. Canales—who at first claimed that Castro was unarmed then claimed that he had threatened him with a rock—was later sent to prison for working with drug cartel members. The judge ordered the government to pay for Castro’s treatment and medical costs, pain and suffering, and loss of income over the next 38 years. This came out to $553,000, but the judge determined that 10 percent of that cost should be cut because Castro was in the act of illegally crossing the border and was thus 10 percent responsible for his injuries.