Witness: Agent shot surrendering migrant

ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN

Published: 02.28.2008

A man fatally shot last year by a U.S. Border Patrol agent was starting to kneel in the act of surrendering when he was hit in the back of his head or neck, pushed down and shot, his brother testified Wednesday.

Jorge Dominguez Rivera, 25, told a federal jury that his brother, Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, did not threaten agent Nicholas Corbett with a rock, contrary to what Corbett's lead attorney said in opening statements.

Sean Chapman told jurors that his client was justified when he fired the fatal shot because Dominguez was threatening to "crush his head with a rock," and that Corbett had made a split-second decision to act in self-defense, as he had been trained to do.

Now let me get this straight - the prosecution's chief witness against one of our nation's brave men defending and protecting our border against an invasion of drugs and people bent on violating our nation's sovereignty is the brother of the man who was shot while attacking this agent who has also violated our nation's sovereignty and is someone who stands to gain a whole lot of money through a resulting civil suit, even though he should have no right to do so as a criminal, if this border agent is convicted? What's wrong with this picture? -mm