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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On June 17, 2017, four Border Patrol Agents from the Calexico Border Patrol Station were attempting to apprehend two subjects near the International Border Fence in Calexico, California. The subjects....
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On the evening of May 26, 2017, an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) exited the train station in Arcadia, California, and started walking toward his residence. The officer was....
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On the afternoon of May 17, 2017, Border Patrol Agents from the Willcox Border Patrol Station were assigned to the Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 80, near Tombstone, Arizona. At the time of the....
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On April 12, 2017, during the pre-dawn hours, three Border Patrol Agents from the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station were tracking a group of three individuals in the Huachuca Mountains near Sierra....
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On April 9, 2017, at approximately 6:12 p.m., a vehicle entered the primary inspection area of the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) checkpoint on Interstate 25. As the vehicle approached the primary....
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On March 20, 2017, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (Minnesota) received a 911 call from a rural U.S. mail carrier. The mail carrier reported that his vehicle had been shot at as he passed by a....
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On the morning of Feb. 3, 2017, after receiving a concerned citizen call regarding suspicious activity, U.S. Border Patrol agents attempted to stop a van near Los Indios, Texas. The driver failed to....
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In the early morning hours of Jan. 14, 2017, a CBP officer was off-duty and heading home in his personally-owned vehicle when he observed an SUV driving erratically in Davison, Michigan. The officer....
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On Dec. 16, 2016, an agent manning a Border Patrol camera at the Douglas Border Patrol Station observed two subjects climb over the international border fence into the U.S. The agent relayed that....
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On Nov. 28, 2016, two Border Patrol Agents from the Detroit Border Patrol Station were assisting the Detroit Police Department in responding to an incident with barricaded gunmen. Per a request from....
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