For Star subscribers: Fatal crashes involving border agents' chases of suspected smugglers have increased, as have questions about whether pursuit policy is turning dangerous situations into deadly ones.
The wildlife rescue volunteer had just left a McDonald’s parking lot where she had met with someone to retrieve an injured hawk. She considered going inside to grab lunch but decided she better get back to Tucson — the hawk was not in great shape.
People are also reading… It was only later that Lehman found out her crash was part of a suspected human smuggling incident. Criminal organizations are hiring U.S. citizens, often young people they find on social media, to pick up undocumented immigrants who have just crossed the border.The front-seat passenger in the car that crashed into Lehman died, 67-year-old Donald Childers of Tucson.
As deadly crashes like this one have increased over the last several years, so have questions about whether Custom and Border Protection’s pursuit policy is turning dangerous situations into deadly ones. New policy promised but few detailsThe Department of Homeland Security opened complaints earlier this year, alleging violations of civil rights or civil liberties resulting from incidents related to vehicle pursuits by Customs and Border Protection employees, according to a Feb. 24 memo to Commissioner Chris Magnus. The department’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties said it is pursuing an investigation.
As well, the agency’s use-of-force policy, which outlines rules around using vehicle immobilization devices and offensive driving techniques, says use must be both “objectively reasonable and necessary,” and they should be used in cases where the need to stop the vehicle outweighs the risk created by the use of the driving technique itself.
Failure to yield tied to migrant numbersThe increase in smuggling incidents and high-speed pursuits is related to an increased number of migrant apprehensions, says U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. Nationwide, the percentage increase from last year in migrant apprehensions has nearly kept pace with the increase in the Border Patrol’s use-of-force incidents involving a vehicle. But in the Tucson Sector, while apprehensions have increased 20% over last year, vehicle use-of-force incidents have increased by 71%.
“It is very dangerous,” Ortiz said. “We've done it a couple of times. And unfortunately, the effects usually resulted in some sort of injury. So we've opted to use other means to disable vehicles whenever they are trying to evade apprehension.” ‘Sinaloa not in charge of traffic laws’In Cochise County, where Lehman’s crash happened, the number of people charged with the felony of fleeing law enforcement increased in the last three years, from 18 in 2020 to 75 in 2021, to 137 in 2022, as of mid-September, according to data from the Cochise County Attorney’s Office.
The Arizona Legislature did pass a law this year that would allow the state and local jurisdictions to charge people with crimes related to human smuggling. McIntyre said in September that it had been enjoined for some time because of default litigation in Maricopa County. Criminal organizations are finding young people on social media in cities like Tucson and Phoenix to pick up migrants near the border, and they usually don’t pull over for law enforcement, McIntyre says.
As well, border enforcement strategies have pushed people to cross the border in more remote areas, which means they have to drive farther, Martínez said. She survivedSince the crash, Lehman is in constant physical pain and deals with anxiety and emotional distress.
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