Diplomat: Texas Agents Should Have Seen People

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Diplomat: Texas Agents Should Have Seen People
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press
McALLEN, Texas October 30, 2012 (AP)

Texas law enforcement agents were close enough to a pickup truck to see there were people inside before one opened fire, killing two Guatemalan immigrants, a Guatemalan diplomat said Tuesday.

After interviewing seven surviving illegal immigrants, Alba Caceres, Guatemala's consul in McAllen, said there was agreement that the helicopter was 450 to 600 feet away Thursday when a trooper inside fired in an attempt to disable the fleeing vehicle.

~snip~

"They all saw it (the helicopter)," Caceres said. "All of them, including those riding up front because they were stuck against the window."

Caceres had said Monday that her skepticism was building that a helicopter could fire on a vehicle without seeing people stuffed into the cabin and bed. "Neither you nor I believe it," she said.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/diplomat-texas-agents-people-17598948

[msanthrope]

1. "covered with a bed sheet," would explain how the people in the truck bed were not seen. The cabin

was not fired into, apparently, but the covered truck bed was--thus the two bodies.

That's horrible--not just the shooting, but apparently the Guatemalan government is so cavalier about what the families still face:

The immigrants' families also have been concerned because they took out high-interest loans from someone in their community to pay the smugglers and it will be difficult to pay that money back now that their relatives are in U.S. custody rather than working in the U.S., Caceres said.

The loans ranged from $2,500 to more than $6,000 at interest rates of 9 percent to 10 percent per month, she said

I'm hoping Ms. Caceres gets her embassy to help the families--particularly those with medical issues (which was why they were coming to the US, apparently.)

Jose Leonardo Coj Cumar, 32, and Marcos Antonio Castro Estrada, 29, were killed. Coj was a father of three who was traveling to the United States because his eldest son needed surgery to repair an arm injured cutting fire wood, Caceres said. Castro was a father of two whose wife is three months pregnant. Both men were from San Martin Jilotepeque, about an hour outside of the Guatemalan capital.

[Jumping John]

2. Governoe Rick Perry nor the Department of Public Safety issued any

official statements in regards to the shooting of these unarmed men.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. This is an outrageous incident. What is this shooting at vehicles bullshit?

Texas DPS claims the right to fire on vehicles to disable them if they might pose a danger. In this case, the only danger posed was by the murderous cops who shot at the vehicle.

Earlier accounts have the passengers saying the tarp was blown away in the wind and the shooter must have seen that he was firing on people.

I hope this incident begins to reign in those Republican assholes in Austin.

[DollarBillHines]

4. Going for a tire on a moving vehicle at 150-200yds?

That's a fucking stretch.

I have shot from a copter, and it ain't easy.

We shoot Russian Boars and they top out around 30mph. They are really big (600 lbs) and to hit one on the run from that distance would require one heck of a shot.

I think the Law was frustrated, pissed off and just fired off a few rounds with tragic results.

[Iggo]

5. Yay, Cops!

They're the best!