Border Patrol accused of false imprisonment

American Patrol

Border Patrol accused of false imprisonment

October 27, 2006

It happened Wednesday night. Mike King, Mike Christie, and Wes Fleming of American Border Patrol, and two Houston Chronicle reporters were on a hillside watching for illegal border crossers using ABP's Axsys thermal camera and broadcasting the mission over the Internet. They had had success operating from the same location in the past.

After about an hour they spotted something and called the Border Patrol Naco station. As King spoke with them, he illuminated the target with an "eye safe" laser and told them he had. The officer on the phone advised Mr. King that he would inform the officers on the ground. ABP listened intently to the scanner traffic for any mention of its laser. After five minutes ABP had not heard any radio traffic that pertained to its laser. ABP immediately called back and told the dispatcher that we had not heard anything about the use of the laser. He told ABP that he was on the phone with them. Shortly thereafter a Border Patrol helicopter appeared on the scene and reported our location to the Naco station. In few minutes a supervisor (Unger) showed up and accused King of "interfering with a police officer" by the use of the laser. He then took the IDs of everyone.

In few minutes Unger returned from his vehicle and placed King under arrest. He was handcuffed, placed in the back of the Border Patrol vehicle and taken to meet a Cochise County Sheriff on a highway nearby. According to King, the arrest arose out of an old traffic ticket he had forgotten about.

According the eyewitnesses, when the supervisor returned to the Naco station there was a "high five" celebration with other supervisors. They were pleased they had "nailed ABP."

ABP has been advised by a lawyer that the Border Patrol supervisor violated the law. There was false imprisonment for a vindictive purpose. There was no warrant and there was no authority. King's civil rights were violated.

King spent the night in jail and was released on his own recognizance the next morning.

Thursday around 6 p.m., after gathering evidence about the incident, Glenn Spencer of ABP called the Naco Border Patrol station and spoke with Agent Roland Saavedra about the matter. He told Saavedra that King's civil rights had been violated. Saavedra told Spencer that Supervisor Unger was the one involved and would call him back. As of noon on Friday, October 27, ABP had not heard from the Border Patrol.

Spencer said ABP would be filing a formal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security and would seek legal advice as to any further action. Over the years ABP has worked to help the Border Patrol and its relationship with individual agents remains good. "It seems that with the U.S. Border Patrol management, no good deed will go unpunished," Spencer said.