Deadly Force

Report: Border Guards Involved in 97 Deaths Since 2003

Including six children.

U.S. border guards have been involved in 97 deaths since 2003, according to a range of evidence brought together by The Guardian. The newspaper compiled settlement-payment data, court records, use-of-force logs, incident reports, and news articles to reach the figure, which it says shows a “pattern of violence” by agents of the Customs and Border Protection agency. The cases include that of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, who was shot and killed “execution-style,” in the language of a wrongful-death complaint the government paid $850,000 to settle. The majority of the 97 died from bullet wounds, but the report listed other deadly incidents: “Pedestrians were run over by agents. Car chases culminated in crashes. Some have drowned, others died after they were pepper-sprayed, stunned with tasers or beaten.” At least 28 people who died were U.S. citizens and six children, between the ages of 12 and 16, were among the victims.