:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elfinanciero/BP7TQL3DCBDEHNFNA3T6K4YPTI.jpg "Mexican woman shot by US border agent files complaint – El Financiero")
The lawyers of a A Mexican woman who was shot in the head by a US Border Patrol agent announced Wednesday that they have filed a complaint against the US government as a precursor to a federal lawsuit.
The complaint before the Border Patrol by Marisol García Alcántara, that arrived in the United States shortly before the summer incident in Nogales, Arizona, is a necessary step before a civil lawsuit is filed next year in federal court in Tucson.
“I want to know why, why they did that to me or why to me,” Garcia, 37, said in an interview last week at his family’s home on the outskirts of Mexico City.
“I am looking for justice. I want an apology from this person and medical and medication support, because I can’t work, ”he said.
The bullet entered Garcia’s head above his left eye and fragments of it remain in his brain, putting him at risk of seizures. He says a semester later he still suffers from memory loss, dizziness and headaches.
A spokesman for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which oversees the Border Patrol, said the agency could not comment because the internal investigation is ongoing. The incident will also be reviewed by the agency’s National Use of Force Review Board, he said.
The identity of the agent has not been released.
Garcia’s legal team has said that the Border Patrol is not in a position to impartially investigate the June 16 incident, noting that concerns remain about patrol units known as Critical Incident Teams. that compile information on the use of force by officers.
Critics call them “undercover units” that could block investigations into whether or not the agents’ actions were justified.
Attorney Eugene Iredale, who represents Garcia, says the teams are “the administrative equivalent of an anti-internal investigations squad designed to protect the agency” from liability.
The Southern Border Communities Coalition, a nonprofit activist group, reiterated Wednesday its calls for Congress to investigate the incident and for Critical Incident Teams.
“This incident is not unique,” said Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represents southern Arizona and supports such an investigation. “This is a pattern that needs to be addressed.”
CBP indicated that the Critical Incident Teams do not conduct investigations, but rather compile evidence for other agencies, in this case under the direction and supervision of the FBI.
Garcia said US authorities never interviewed her about the incident.
“No one investigated. I returned to Mexico without declaring, ”he said.
Garcia said she went to the United States to visit her mother and look for work to support her three daughters.
Shortly after arriving in that country, she was among a group of people who were in a van in the border city of Nogales, sitting behind the driver. He heard a siren, he felt pain in his head and his vision blurred, and immediately other people in the vehicle approached him to try to treat the wound.
She was taken to a nearby hospital and then by helicopter to another in Phoenix, where she was operated on that same night. García said that after spending two days in that city, she was transferred to a detention center for several weeks before being returned to Mexico.
The announcement of the complaint was released just days after Chris Magnus, the Tucson police chief, was sworn in as a CBP commissioner. Magnus updated the policies on the use of force and made many other changes during his time at the helm of the Tucson police.
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