Posted on 01/17/2007 4:24:55 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
(CNSNews.com) - As two U.S. Border Patrol agents surrendered to federal marshals Wednesday afternoon to begin serving more than a decade in jail for shooting an illegal drug smuggler, a federal lawmaker and conservative advocacy group expressed outrage at President Bush for not pardoning the men.
"This is the worst betrayal of American defenders I have ever seen," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said of the president.
"It's shameful this was done by someone who is in the Republican Party," the California Republican added in comments coinciding with the jailing of agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.
Rohrabacher said Bush "obviously thinks more about his agreements with Mexico than the lives of American people and backing up his defenders."
Ramos and Compean reportedly handed themselves over to the U.S. Marshal's office in El Paso, Texas, early Wednesday afternoon, facing the prospect of 11- and 12-year prison terms, respectively, for a string of offenses including the use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.
Steve Elliott, president of the conservative group Grassfire.org, also lashed out at Bush on Wednesday.
The American people "have a vivid picture of where the Bush administration really stands on border security," Elliott charged in a news release.
He described the crimes committed by Ramos and Compean as "so-called civil rights violations against an illegal alien drug smuggler who has been smuggling drugs into this country for years and was smuggling 743 pounds of marijuana at the time of the confrontation."
Elliott also argued that the U.S. attorney's office did not have to pursue the case, prosecute the men, "take the word of an illegal alien drug smuggler over that of our border agents" or give the illegal alien immunity.
"President Bush could have spoken out publicly in support of these agents and how their incarceration could further cripple our border security efforts," he added.
Instead, Elliot said, "when it came time to stand and be counted on the side of our border agents, the president's administration chose to side with a career illegal alien drug smuggler."
As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Ramos and Compean encountered Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila while on duty on Feb. 17, 2005. When they tried to stop him, he fled and was shot and wounded. Aldrete-Davila was treated at a hospital in El Paso and then returned to Mexico.
After learning of the shooting, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton sought out Aldrete-Davila in Mexico and offered him immunity from prosecution if he would return to the United States to testify against Ramos and Compean.
Sutton later defended the decision, arguing that the agents did not have knowledge of any criminal activity involving Aldrete-Davila at the time they shot him.
Ramos and Compean were charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with serious bodily injury, discharge of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, willfully violating Aldrete-Davila's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure and obstruction of justice for intentionally defacing the crime scene, lying about the incident, and failing to report the truth.
During a press briefing last Friday, White House spokesman Tony Snow addressed the case and criticism at some length.
"According to the facts presented in court, you had an incident in which there was an attempt to pull somebody over. He finally got pulled over; somebody holds out a gun. Sort of scuffling ensues," Snow said.
"And what happens is you've got a fellow running away, and a couple of agents eventually in pursuit, firing 14 shots at him - I think 15, actually. Fourteen by one agent missed, one did strike him in the fleshy hindquarters," he added.
"Now, at the time this happened, they did not know if he was an illegal," Snow continued.
"They did not know that there were 700 pounds of marijuana [in Aldrete-Davila's van]. They didn't know any of those things. But instead you had this. They also had received arms training the day before that said if you have an incident like this, you must preserve the evidence and you must report it promptly," he said.
"Instead, according to court documents, they went around and picked up the shell casings. Furthermore, they asked one of their colleagues also to help pick up shell casings. They disposed of them," Snow added.
Snow noted that a jury convicted the agents on 11 out of 12 counts and defended the government's stance.
"This is not the case of the United States saying, we are not going to support people who go after drug dealers. Of course we are ... we also believe that the people who are working to secure that border themselves obey the law," he said.
....sound like the actions of someone who was firing at an illegal...scaring them back to Mexico and then leaving the sceen. Nothing left to do..
I'm glad their on my side.
Wow. There's a whole lot of weasel words in that mess.
One word: BULL!
They didn't cover up anything. They just didn't report it.
The record shows, for a fact, they acted legally and thought the perp had a gun at the time. Let's see you make better split second decisions when you see your partner lying on the ground and you don't know why (we've learned he was trying to find the defendant but the agent didn't know that).
The facts are clear. This guy was smuggling 400 pounds of pot into the country and resisted and ran. That's good enough to shoot him for fleeing alone.
Geez, people like you are why we are in trouble. These guys refused all the "plea bargains" they were offered because, and I know this is hard for you to understand, they DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! They were railroaded pure and simple because we all know, while most here don't want to hear the truth, that Border agents are told to basically look the other way.
Do we enforce our laws or not? THIS WAS A DRUG SMUGGLER!
Pitiful.
Is there anything in the article on where they are being imprisoned? sorry didnt really have time to go through the whole thing.
These guys are going to get eaten up in jail. In cases like this, are the guilty put in special cells away from other inmates?
Spot on Pukin. Laws are laws and all of them should be enforced. Law enforcement officers are no exception.
I don't know. I just know they got 11 and 12 years respectively.
Which is another reason to get ticked off. Actual murderers don't get that kind of time any longer and they killed no one.
Yes. And that is what everyone (including you) is complaining about here. Did you read post 44?
Put down the Kool-Aid and pick up a cuppa Joe for a change.
And who leads the GOP right now??
(clue: he sits in the Oval Office behind that big wooden desk)
Have you read the way these guys were railroaded? The fact our government gave extraordinary amnesty to criminals to pursue this case? The fact the mother of the so-called victim has connections to higher ups in the Border Patrol agency?
This stinks. Wake up.
Sutton is a bureucratic pimp.
Answer the question...Did you read post 44?
Three of whom have now come forward to say they were coerced by the prosecutors to find the agents guilty.
If true, why did the prosecutor need to do this if these agents were so 'slam-dunk' guilty?
On February 17, 2005, Ramos and Compean were patrolling the border town of Fabens, Texas, when a Mexican illegal alien and drug smuggler, attempted to secret nearly 800 pounds of marijuana into the United States in his van. Agent Compean chased Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila by vehicle and on foot, ordering him to stop. Compean says Aldrete-Davila ignored him, pushed him down, and assaulted him, whereupon the agent called for backup, drawing seven additional units, including Ramos. When he arrived on the scene, he heard gunfire, saw Compean bleeding on the ground, and the fugitive – still refusing to stop as commanded – stealing furtive glances over his shoulder while holding something shiny he believed to be a handgun. Both state they felt threatened, and both fired rounds in the alien’s direction, Ramos striking him in the buttocks. The alien got away, but the two men had jeopardized their own well-being to keep his noxious contraband off our streets.Returning to Mexico, Aldrete-Davila related his misfortunes to his mother, who contacted the mother-in-law of Border Patrol agent Rene Sanchez. Sanchez in turn tipped off a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who went to Mexico to offer immunity if Osbaldo would act as a state’s witness against Ramos and Compean: the feds wanted to prosecute the agents shooting the alien narcotics supplier.
To sweeten the immunity deal, the feds paid for Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila’s medical treatment of his ailing backside – a taxpayer-funded recuperation at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. He showed his gratitude by breaking his immunity agreement in October 2005, when officers say he attempted to smuggle 1,000 pounds of marijuana into America. The prosecution further extended its immunity to this felony and sealed the indictment from jurors. Aldrete-Davila repaid this new shower of grace by suing the federal government for $5 million, alleging the shooting violated his civil rights. However, he agreed to help in their criminal prosecution, as well, and the feds are apparently happy to collaborate with the pusher as long as he helped put effective lawmen behind bars.
All true. What I object to is giving the drug runner immunity to testify. Are the rules of engagement so important that they had to give immunity to an international drug dealer in order to secure such a conviction?
If I were a prosecutor, I would have tried to make my case without it, knowing that they'd be fired anyway.
Unfortunately this case is indeed a travesty of justice, and the administration's response a black mark on their legacy.
Bite me. Of course I read the bureaucrat BS. Amazing how, on this issue, normally skeptics of government liars are buying into this crap when it's clearly a cover up to hide the fact we don't care what goes on at the border.
I bet you don't believe they want to use the SPP and create a North American Union and one currency. I bet you think only kooks are convinced law enforcement is turning a blind eye to illegal immigration from the top down.
Oh wait a minute. What am I thinking? Of course you're correct. I should totally believe Sutton. And DA Nifong. And Bob Bennett. And Sandy "I'm just careless" Berger. And the Hair Club For Men. And Bill "I never had sex with that woman" Clinton.
I still wouldn't have given the guy immunity if it were me. I've never understood the notion that shooting at a person running from law enforcement is not prima facia evidence of intent to harm.
I'm sorry, are you accusing the poster of being rational?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.