Three U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the San Diego Sector came under assault in separate incidents on Wednesday evening. These attacks add to the already alarming increase in attacks.
Agents patrolling along State Route 905 in southern California attempted to stop a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday night. The driver of the SUV failed to yield, and agents initiated a pursuit. Several other agents joined in to assist and activated their emergency lights and sirens, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Mark Endicott.
At one point in the pursuit, the driver turned abruptly and struck one of the pursuing vehicles. The driver briefly stopped, but took off again and struck the agent’s vehicle a second time. Other responding agents stopped the fleeing vehicle a short time later.
Officials identified the driver only as an American citizen. The agents arrested the driver on charges of assaulting a federal officer, Endicott stated.
About an hour and a half later, an agent working near the International Boundary at Otay Mesa found a man hiding in the tall brush near the border. The agent approached the man who jumped from his hiding spot and confronted the agent with a knife in his hand. The agent quickly wrestled the knife away from the suspect and placed him in handcuffs.
The agent identified the man as a Mexican national who entered the U.S. illegally. A search of the suspect revealed a glass pipe and a small quantity of methamphetamine. The agent arrested the 47-year-old man and seized the drugs and the glass pipe. Officials charged the alien with illegal entry into the U.S., Endicott said.
Nearby, and about 30 minutes later, another pair of agents discovered a man illegally crossing the border. The agents approached the man, eventually identified as a 36-year-old Mexican national, and prepared to take him into custody.
As the agents approached the Mexican national, the suspect allegedly became combative. He kicked the agents and struck them with punches, Endicott described. Agents used pepper spray to subdue the suspect and eventually placed him in handcuffs.
In the second and third instances, prosecutors did not appear to file assault charges on the two Mexican nationals despite at least one agent being threatened with a deadly weapon and two others violently struck by a suspect.
Border Patrol agents are the most assaulted federal agents in law enforcement. Many believe this is due to the failure to consistently file assault charges.
According to the latest February 28 report, suspects assaulted Border Patrol Agents 413 times since the new fiscal year began on October 1. This represents an increase of 179 percent when compared to the same period last year. During that same period, only 29 Customs and Border Protection officers in different agencies were attacked.
Two days before these attacks, an agent assigned to the Tucson Sector became the subject of a rock attack as he attempted to take another illegal migrant into custody, Breitbart Texas reported Wednesday. The agent did not receive any injuries in the attack and quickly retreated to his vehicle after people on the south side of the border fence began throwing large rocks. The agents truck sustained windshield damage from the attack.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.