Look. First off, ANYONE saying the BP guy should have been "ducking and weaving" really needs to learn how to read. The agent was detaining an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT on the ground. Once the Mexican's just on the other side of the border saw this, they started throwing rocks at him.
The BP guy had an OBLIGATION to protect not only himself, but his detainee. The BP guy was being ATTACKED by multiple assailants throwing large rocks. After having been in this Nation's Army for over 20 years and deployed to some of the worst places you could think of, I can GUARANTEE you that when all of those rocks were coming in while the BP guy was arresting an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, he felt as though HIS life and, that of the criminal, were in jeopardy. He pulled his weapon and fired at the group of Mexican's doing the rock throwing. HE, the Patrol officer, was being ATTACKED by people. Some on the Mexican side, some running back and forth over the border to chuck rocks at him. The Officer did the RIGHT THING in defending himself and ensuring the health of his detainee.
Can you imagine what would have occurred if the illegal immigrant he was arresting had been injured or killed by one of those rocks? That Mexican's family would have sued the heck out of the U.S. for not providing a safe environment for their family member while being arrested. They would of been saying, "Yes, he broke the law by crossing the border. So he deserved to be arrested. But the United States of America FAILED to properly protect our family member and think 45 million dollars should cover it."
And this statement just blows my mind with its stupidity and ignorance:
Nunyabiz said:
The KID threw a couple of rocks and then RAN.
He was running away and was shot IN THE BACK.
There is no justification for that period.
Do you REALLY think the BP agent knew the assailants age? Do you REALLY think the agent selected, out of all the people throwing rocks at him from that location, a kid over an adult to shoot? Do you KNOW if the BP agent had just observed this kid throw a big rock that almost hit them and had already observed the individual throw a rock, turn around and run to where more rocks were and then come back towards him to throw them?
Let me tell you something since obviously, the most dangerous situation you've been in is slipping in a puddle of beer next to your fridge. I've been in combat with bad guys and civilians all around us. As a Blackhawk crew chief and door gunner, it was my duty to disembark the helicopter and provide covering fire with my MP5, M16, M4 or one time, my 9mm when my weapons rack had taken a direct hit from a burst of enemy gunfire. There was a crowd of people, some with weapons, some with grenades and some with knives/machetes. Others, probably just dang civilians, just using that chance to throw rocks at us. When I started looking to aquire a target, I selected the FIRST person who could do the most damage with the weapon of their choice. It was a person whose age I could not determine. He was the closest, he was the most immediate threat since I had spinning rotor blades to worry about and, he had a rock the size of a grapefruit he was hefting over his head. He took two three round bursts to the chest and I then moved to the next target. He took one three round burst and dropped his AK. The next immediate threat took two three round burst to drop and he had dang rock too. I didn't have time to ask anyone for their ID so I could make sure I wasn't shooting a kid. It turned out that one of them was 16 years old.
In the heat of the battle, where I was trying to keep a crowd of people who suddenly turned combative towards our medical evacuation helicopter, I had ZERO time to assess the ages of the enemy. All I could assess was the immediate threat and then immediately eliminate that threat through superior fire power and training. Only one AK was fired at us doing almost no damage, but the rocks and sticks and other crap being thrown at our guys trying to egress the area with their wounded was causing injuries to those guys. The helicopter sustained three main rotor blade hits from rocks, all three blades had to be replaced at a cost of $125,000 per copy, and I have a scar on my left arm from a rock that caused a rather nasty injury.
A few years later, in Iraq, I was placed in a situation where GROWN MEN were using 12-15 year old KIDS as a way to interrupt our convoy. They would push these kids in front of the drivers of the trucks hoping one would stop. As soon as that truck stopped, which would cause all the other vehicles in the convoy behind it to stop as well, then the guys with the guns would pop out of their concealed positions and open fire on the convoy. Once everyone was killed/wounded/captured, they would then steal everything they could get their hands on as well as show their torturing and deaths on Al Jazeera T.V. So you can bet your ass that when one of these guys tossed a kid in front of my truck, I did the only thing I could to protect the other 35 Soldiers of my platoon in the trucks behind me. I didn't touch the brake pedal and that resulted in the death of a child. Something that haunts me to this very day.
This just BEGS the question: Where in the WORLD were the parents of these kids? Or were the parents the one putting these kids lives at risk? What about the other ADULTS in the area. Why in the WORLD didn't they have the kids removed from the area before starting their attacks?
The answer is pretty simple. While we American's, and most other civilized nations, place a VERY high value on the lives of children and will do just about anything to prevent injury or death to a child, not all countries and cultures see it that way. Many of them consider a boy a man just because that boy has hair on his sack or is old enough to father a child himself.
How many times have you seen on TV that American protesters at any given rally are allowing kids in that rally? Especially if that rally has a chance of becoming violent?
You've got a severe cultural ignorance issue going on. Your lack of experience and knowledge clearly shines through in your statements. There's simply too much about this we do not know and I'm sure the gov't is looking through all the security tapes and other data to figure out exactly what happened. If the BP guy is guilty of wrongful use of his weapon, he will be held accountable. If he was justified, he will be released of all culpability. Why don't we get the information surrounding this event before we accuse and condemn? It has already been stated that this Mexican Kid was in the crowd of people throwing rocks at the BP agent. So that's one strike against the kid already. Here in America, we are innocent until proven guilty. You would do very well to remember that.
It is no ones fault that kid is dead but his own. And any one who thinks other wise is just as dumb. He chose to through the rock at a LEO no one else made the choice for him.