Tragedy was narrowly avoided in June when poor communication between the U.S. Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety led a trooper to fire his weapon near an agent.
Critics of the Department of Public Safety's border surge -- which sends state troopers from across Texas to the Rio Grande Valley -- point at the incident as prime example of the issues with the program, according to KDBC-TV. "When you bring DPS officers from other parts of the state who aren’t really familiar with the border, it’s like going into a strange area or an unfamiliar area," Texas State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa said. "You're prone to be a lot more cautious and possibly make some mistakes."
The incident began on June 21 when a game warden and a Border Patrol agent near Escobares encountered trouble around 10 p.m. and were keeping an eye on the Rio Grande when the game warden heard a gunshot.
The game warden contacted the Border agent on the radio and they met up about 220 yards away.
The warden says that the agent radioed in: "I was shot at by a trooper."
The Border agent said that two troopers were nearby and attempted to identify himself by flashing a white light at them and also attempted to contact them by radio, but didn't receive a response.
Following the report of the incident, the Texas Department of Public Safety released a statement:
The DPS investigation into the incident is ongoing, so we are limited in the information we can provide at this time. The preliminary investigation indicates an accidental discharge in an upward direction — not directly at the Border Patrol agent.
The incident in question took place on June 21 after 10 p.m. It is important to note that information from both the Parks and Wildlife game warden and the Border Patrol agent are part of the investigation, and our investigators also spoke directly with both men. (The preliminary investigation also indicates that the trooper and the agent were separated by more than 10 feet.)
DPS and the Border Patrol have already communicated about this incident, and will continue those interagency discussions once the investigation is complete, including lessons learned from all involved. We have a strong working relationship with our Border Patrol partners, and continually discuss ways to enhance communication, cooperation and safety.
