Incident involving border officials under investigation

Inspector claims agents beat him

By Onell R. Soto

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

January 6, 2008

SAN DIEGO – Federal investigators say they are looking into an incident Thursday in which an off-duty border inspector claims to have been beaten by two Border Patrol agents after dropping off his girlfriend at the Tecate border crossing.

The clash involved Border Patrol agents who investigate smugglers and an employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which runs the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in eastern San Diego County, officials said yesterday.

Law enforcement officials familiar with the incident, but who didn't want to be identified because the investigation is ongoing, said the border inspector was worried about an armed man who was watching him after he dropped off his girlfriend.

The inspector left in a hurry, and the armed man followed in his own vehicle, the officials said. About five miles east of Tecate, the inspector stopped when a Border Patrol vehicle blocked his vehicle's path.

The driver of the Border Patrol vehicle knocked the inspector to the ground, and the armed man, who turned out to be a Border Patrol agent, kicked him, the officials said.