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 News from Around the Americas | January 2006 
Answers Sought in Killing of Mexican National by State Trooper
 Kaitlin Bell - The Monitor
| | A man looks over the border fence separating the U.S. and Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico. The U.S. Border Patrol used a 'dum-dum' bullet, banned in international war but standard issue for border agents, to kill an 18-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant whose death last week angered Mexico. (Reuters/Jorge Duenes) |
McAllen, TX — The Mexican government and the family of a Mexican national whom a state trooper shot and killed in Roma this weekend want to know why a seemingly routine traffic stop ended in death.
"The government of Mexico is being really strong on this because it is a sensitive case" that involved the killing of an unarmed Mexican national, said Vice Consul Sandra Mendoza of the McAllen consulate.
The consulate is demanding the Texas Department of Public Safety conduct a "thorough investigation," and the wife and parents of the man — whom authorities identified Wednesday as 23-year-old Ismael Segura Mendez — have retained a local lawyer to investigate whether the trooper violated Segura’s civil rights by using unnecessary force against him.
The diplomatic and legal developments are the latest in a complicated chain of events that has quickly spiraled since the shooting occurred Saturday night — a situation fraught with implications of violence against illegal immigrants.
Mike Jolly, the lawyer representing Segura’s family, said an autopsy they commissioned in Mexico revealed bruises on Segura’s wrists, raising questions about whether he may have been subjected to excessive force.
"If somebody’s handcuffed, I don’t think you need to shoot them," Jolly said. "And if someone’s shot, I don’t think you need to handcuff them."
But DPS held its ground Wednesday, saying Segura’s immigration status had nothing to do with the shooting and that the Texas Rangers were already conducting a thorough investigation of the incident. DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said DPS concerns itself with traffic violations, not immigration status.
Segura was a Mexican citizen who was living illegally in the United States, Mendoza said, although she didn’t know exactly where in the United States or for how long. Jolly said Segura lived in Mexico but worked as a day laborer in the United States.
According to the DPS, Trooper Patrick O’Connor, 26, shot Segura, who was unarmed, around 10:30 p.m. Saturday after Segura resisted arrest for driving while intoxicated. He ran away and continued toward the trooper in a "threatening" manner, said Vinger, who is based in Austin. Segura had originally been pulled over for driving without a license plate, Vinger said.
The Mexican consulate in McAllen, however, wants to know more about O’Connor’s behavior during the stop.
"We believe that excessive force was not necessary," Mendoza said.
Vinger said the 229th Judicial District office, which covers Starr, Duval and Jim Hogg counties, will independently review the evidence.
The night of the shooting, O’Connor and an accompanying trooper suspected Segura might be intoxicated when they questioned him. The troopers attempted to arrest the Mexican national, but he resisted, knocked O’Connor to the ground and fled on foot, Vinger said. This prompted O’Connor to chase after him while the second trooper stayed behind, according to Vinger.
After both men ran about two-tenths of a mile, O’Connor cornered Segura against a fence near a Roma residence. Then Segura made "threatening moves" toward O’Connor, Vinger said. That’s when Segura did not respond to O’Connor’s repeated commands to stop, Vinger said. When Segura did not stop, the trooper shot him in the chest, said the DPS spokesman.
Segura later died at a nearby hospital.
Some initial reports, including The Monitor’s, erroneously stated earlier this week that O’Connor shot Segura after Segura fired at him. But Vinger stressed Wednesday that Segura did not have a gun.
Early news reports also gave Segura’s name as Luis Segura, after Texas Ranger Sgt. Israel Pacheco said that was his name. Pacheco is investigating the case for the DPS. Vinger said Wednesday the initial ID was based on information from family members, because Segura did not have a Texas driver’s license; but the DPS later received Segura’s legal name from the Mexican consulate.
DPS did not have any information about whether Segura had a criminal history, said Vinger.
Of Jolly’s suggestion that O’Connor might have shot Segura while he was still in handcuffs, Vinger said "there’s no evidence to support that theory."
Vinger said he did not have information about whether O’Connor had tried to handcuff Segura just before Segura resisted arrest and fled, or whether he handcuffed Segura after shooting him.
He also did not have information on whether O’Connor had ever been accused of misconduct. O’Connor has been a state trooper for two years. |
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