Thread: Border agents shoot man near Sweet Grass

Border agents shoot man near Sweet Grass
By KAREN OGDEN
Tribune Enterprise Editor


SWEET GRASS — Two border patrol agents shot a man Friday morning on the U.S. side of the Canadian border near Sweet Grass.
Border officials would not say Friday evening whether the man survived.

The officers encountered the man, who was driving a stolen vehicle with Illinois license plates, “during their patrol duties,” according to a brief statement released by the Havre sector office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

As the officers attempted to question the man, he reached for his back pocket for what was later found to be a stun gun, according to the statement, read over the phone by David Bernard, assistant chief patrol agent out of the CBP’s Havre office.

“In an act of self-defense, the agents discharged their service-issued weapons,” Bernard said.

Emergency medical services and local law enforcement responded to the scene, including the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the incident with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Bernard said.

He said he was not permitted to provide any information beyond the statement prepared by Ted Denning, acting chief patrol agent with the CBP’s Havre Sector.

Bernard declined to answer questions such as whether the man was alone, what his citizenship was and exactly where the incident took place.

Don't bring a stun-gun to a gun fight! Idiots.

Originally Posted by dmclark

Don't bring a stun-gun to a gun fight! Idiots.

LMAO

Oh, please do bring a stun gun to my gunfight, or a rock or a knife or a big stick; I encourage it as I have no concept of fair play in these situations. I prefer to have the upper hand!

Originally Posted by kennethm3

Oh, please do bring a stun gun to my gunfight, or a rock or a knife or a big stick; I encourage it as I have no concept of fair play in these situations. I prefer to have the upper hand!

Amen, but I'd still feel bad shooting an unarmed man... but at least I'd know I'm going home safe n sound

Originally Posted by LearninginMN

Amen, but I'd still feel bad shooting an unarmed man... but at least I'd know I'm going home safe n sound

Good grief!!!! He was NOT unarmed! Think of it this way: He has stun gun...zaps you. Takes your gun and kills you with it. Same applies to pepper spray. Someone with a stun gun is not unarmed.

Gonzo

Originally Posted by LearninginMN

Amen, but I'd still feel bad shooting an unarmed man... but at least I'd know I'm going home safe n sound

I'd definitely have to side with Gonzo. If you think along the lines of him being unarmed, despite possessing a stun gun, you might not being going home safe and sound. Many items, excluding firearms, can ,will and have sent many an officer to an early grave. In this business second chances are few and far in-between.

Originally Posted by Big Sexy

I'd definitely have to side with Gonzo. If you think along the lines of him being unarmed, despite possessing a stun gun, you might not being going home safe and sound. Many items, excluding firearms, can ,will and have sent many an officer to an early grave. In this business second chances are few and far in-between.

I was inferring that I'd shoot him if he reached for something I agree with you big..., and although I'd feel bad, I'd still be going home

Originally Posted by LearninginMN

and although I'd feel bad, I'd still be going home

I would not feel bad at all. There is only one use for a stun gun and it ain't good. If he was reaching he was preparing to be using.

Guy in STOLEN car + ANYTHING that could harm me = harsh reaction.

Originally Posted by TCB

I would not feel bad at all. There is only one use for a stun gun and it ain't good. If he was reaching he was preparing to be using.

Guy in STOLEN car + ANYTHING that could harm me = harsh reaction.

your saying it wouldn't affect you in the least that you killed or seriosuly injured a guy?? If I shot someone I'd feel badly that I had to do that, but I'd be relived it was him not me who had the bullet hole. I agree with everyone that yes you reach for something be ready to get shot, but I'd still feel some emotion from it.

Originally Posted by LearninginMN

Amen, but I'd still feel bad shooting an unarmed man... but at least I'd know I'm going home safe n sound

It's not a perfect world. He was armed with a pretty incapacitating weapon. You would feel worse if you or one of your fellow LEO's was shot or even tased by this........ person. Sorry, I have no sympathy for him. He played a real bad hand and lost

Irishcopper

Border victim may have been ex-con on the run
By JARED MILLER
Tribune Regional Reporter


CUT BANK — The man shot to death Friday by U.S. border agents north of Cut Bank may have been an ex-con on the run from his parole officer in Illinois.

Investigators believe the man is 35 or 36 years old and was released from prison in July, Glacier County Undersheriff Jeff Fauque said.

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The man's name has not been released because his family in Illinois had not been notified by Monday afternoon.

The man died from a gunshot wound to his upper chest after two border agents opened fire on him at close range. He died at the scene of the shooting about 25 miles north of Cut Bank, Fauque said.

A border officer first noticed the man in a suspicious-looking black truck Friday morning within three miles of the border, Fauque said.

A check on the truck's Illinois license plate number showed it was stolen.

Confronted by the officer, the man got out of the truck. But he refused to follow commands to lie on the ground and display his hands.

He alternately hid his hands in his pockets and he made the sign of the cross, Fauque said.

A second officer arrived on the scene. They both trained their weapons on the suspect.

After a standoff that lasted several minutes, the man reached for his back pocket for what was later found to be a stun gun, according to the Havre Sector office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The stun gun was a black, rectangular device that measured approximately five inches by 3 inches in size, Fauque said. Stun guns can be used at close range for self defense.

"He made a deliberate motion to his back pocket," Fauque said.

The officers responded by shooting the man. Officials declined to say how many shots were fires. The man died at the scene.

David Bernard, assistant chief patrol agent for CBP's Havre office, said the agents were acting in self-defense when they discharged their weapons.

A third border officer who was not involved in the shooting witnessed the incident, Fauque said.

Authorities transported the man's body to the state crime lab in Missoula for an autopsy by the state pathologist.

The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Glacier County Sheriff. Fauque said he could not release more details because of the ongoing investigation.

There was some initial confusion about the man's identification because he was carrying a military ID that was not his own.

The CBP office in Havre referred a call for comment to the CBP office in Washington, D.C. The Washington office directed all calls back to the Havre office.

Reach Tribune Regional Reporter Jared Miller at (406) 791-6573, (800) 438-6600 or at jarmille@greatfal.gannett.com.



Originally published October 25,

Originally Posted by H. Schoolboy

The CBP office in Havre referred a call for comment to the CBP office in Washington, D.C. The Washington office directed all calls back to the Havre office.

Basically, don't call us, we'll call you.