Investigative Journalists Award 'Golden Padlock' To Border Patrol
The nonprofit Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) announced Friday the U.S. Border Patrol was the winner of the organization's first annual Golden Padlock Award.
The award raises awareness about an government agency or individual that has remained silent about pressing issues, failing to meet its civic duty of accountability. The award focused on deadly patrol shootings along the Southwest border.
Since 2010, Border Patrol agents have killed 17 people along the U.S.-Mexico border under their use of force policy.
The policy allows agents to use lethal force if he or she feels their life is in jeopardy. Although in each case agents reported they were under attack, it's hard to determine if the person killed was the one actually engaged in conflict.
As we reported, a 16-year-old boy was killed by agents in October. The officers stated they were under a barrage of rocks at the time and shot in self defense.
But an autopsy showed the boy, who was shot in Mexico, was hit in back after he had already fallen. The Border Patrol agent who killed him remains unidentified.
The current immigration reform bill in congress offers little change to the current use of force policy: