[awake-n-angry]

I suppose the jury was swayed by the officers being the only ones involved in the incident who were in the possession of fire arms and the smuggler being the only person on the scene bleeding out of a gunshot wound.

Testimony from other law enforcement officers that claim the two border agents picked up empty shell casings to alter the scene may have also been detrimental to their case.

[Ajnin]

I suppose the jury was swayed by the officers being the only ones involved in the incident who were in the possession of fire arms and the smuggler being the only person on the scene bleeding out of a gunshot wound.

I don't know what the jury was swayed by. According to the transcripts, in my opinion, there is reasonable doubt that a crime was committed by the agents and they should have been acquitted.

Testimony from other law enforcement officers that claim the two border agents picked up empty shell casings to alter the scene may have also been detrimental to their case.

The picking up of the casings was most certainly detrimental to their case. Obviously, to the jury it indicated guilt, which they interpreted to mean the agents knew they shot an unarmed man. However, shooting on duty, not reporting it and picking up casings had been common practice in the Border Patrol which makes their story plausible.