CBP Use of Force Case Summaries
CBP continues to implement significant policy, procedural and programmatic initiatives that ensure the safety of CBP personnel while striving to earn the public trust. To that end, CBP established U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Use of Force Review Board (NUFRB) in December 2014 as part of the many initiatives adopted by CBP to increase accountability and transparency.
The NUFRB is a committee of senior leaders from CBP, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assigned to review use of force incidents resulting in serious physical injury or death, or any incident involving the discharge of a firearm in a non-training setting. The board reviews cases that have completed the investigative process and have been declined for prosecution by either a U.S. Attorney, state or local prosecutor.
The board considers the following:
Whether use of force is within policy;
Whether there is possible misconduct associated with the application of force; and
Whether lessons can be learned from the incident in terms of techniques, tactics, policy, training and equipment.
Following senior agency leadership concurrence or non-concurrence with the NUFRB’s conclusions, the Commissioner makes the final determination regarding whether the use of force was within policy.
Below are summaries of use of force cases that have completed CBP’s internal review process as well as the conclusions of the NUFRB’s review of those cases.
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In the early evening of June 17, 2021, U. S. Border Patrol (USBP) tower cameras observed a vehicle picking up two subjects on the side of the road just north of the international border near Lukeville....
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On his way home from work on May 5, 2020, an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent was alerted by local police that they had been searching for an armed suspect in his neighborhood earlier that day. Later....
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On April 15, 2019, at approximately 4:30 a.m., an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) was at a 7-11 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, when two armed, masked subjects entered the....
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On the afternoon of Nov. 29, 2018, the Campo Border Patrol Station received a call from a concerned citizen regarding two vehicles that had broken through a gate and illegally crossed the border in....
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On the morning of Sept. 8, 2018, two U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered two suspected undocumented non-citizens near Arivaca, Arizona. The agents attempted to arrest the subjects and a physical....
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On Aug. 23, 2018, at approximately 5:15 a.m., an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) interrupted a vehicle burglary in progress in the driveway of the officer’s residence. The....
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On Aug. 16, 2018, at approximately 5:25 a.m., a U.S. Border Patrol agent stopped to render assistance to three San Diego Sheriff's Department (SDSD) Deputies, who were struggling to control and arrest....
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In the early morning hours of February 12, 2018, a Supervisory CBP Officer (SCBPO) was awoken in her home by the sound of an intruder. The intruder gained entry into the SCBPO’s residence by breaking....
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On the morning of Nov. 29, 2017, two Border Patrol Agents from the Three Points Border Patrol Station encountered a group of people suspected of crossing the border illegally on the Tohono O’Odham....
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On Sept.7, 2017, a U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agent from the Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station attempted to stop a vehicle suspected of smuggling narcotics near Garceno, Texas. The driver failed to....
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