Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/365950
CHRISTOPHERSHERMAN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS The main canal supplying water to the city of Mission, Texas is shown on Aug. 9. At this spot on the night of Aug. 6, Border Patrol agents arresting immigrants mistook seven armed militia members for state troopers. ByChristopherSherman The Associated Press MISSION, TEXAS On a re- cent moonlit night, Border Patrol agents began round- ing up eight immigrants hiding in and around a ca- nal near the Rio Grande. A state trooper soon ar- rived to help. Then out of the darkness emerged seven more armed men in fatigues. Agents assumed the cam- ouflaged crew that joined in pulling the immigrants from the canal's milky green waters was a tactical unit from the Texas Depart- ment of Public Safety. Only later did they learn that the men belonged to the Texas Militia, a group that dresses like a SWAT team and car- ries weapons but has no law-enforcement training or authority of any kind. The situation ended peacefully with the im- migrants getting arrested and the Border Patrol ad- vising the militia members "to properly and promptly" identify themselves any- time they encounter law- enforcement officers. But the episode was unsettling enough for the Border Pa- trol to circulate an "is- sue paper" warning other agents. The presence of armed militia members working on their own in a region known for human smug- gling, drug smuggling and illegal immigration has added one more variable to an already complex and tense situation. Although the Aug. 6 in- cident in Mission resulted in no harm, it's not hard to imagine deadlier outcomes throughout the Rio Grande Valley, a wide area patrolled by more than 3,000 border agents, as well as hundreds of state troopers, game war- dens, deputies and local po- lice officers. Gov. Rick Perry is also sending as many as 1,000 National Guard troops. "How do they identify themselves? Do they have badges? How do we know who they are?" asked J.P. Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Hidalgo County Sher- iff's Office. "If they're all just dressed in camos, it's kind of hard to distinguish whether they're law en- forcement or not. ... There's a lot of potential for stuff to go wrong." One year ago, a member of an Arizona Minuteman border-watch group was arrested for pointing a ri- fle at a sheriff's deputy he apparently mistook for a drug smuggler. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio warned of "chaos if you're going to have private citi- zens dressed just like our deputies taking the law into their own hands." If militia members aren't careful in their dealings with real law officers, "there could be some dead militia out there," he added. The Border Patrol de- clined to comment on the encounter in Mission, re- ferring questions to a gen- eral statement on militias released last month by U.S. Customs and Border Pro- tection. That statement said the agency "does not endorse or support any private group or organization from tak- ing matters into their own hands as it could have di- sastrous personal and pub- lic safety consequences." The militia members who surprised the Border Patrol that night told agents they wanted to help with the "border crisis" and that they supported the agency's ef- forts, according to a copy of the issue paper obtained by The Associated Press. Emails sent to a website for the Texas Militia were not answered. The spot where the inci- dent happened is a popular smuggling corridor where a thumb of Mexican farmland pushes a deep pocket into South Texas. The canal, an earthen channel that deliv- ers water to the city of Mis- sion, is 6 to 8 feet deep. Im- migrants who emerge from the canal have only to cross a single sorghum field to reach a road. A surge of illegal immi- gration put renewed at- tention on the border this summer. About 63,000 un- accompanied child immi- grants were arrested be- tween October and July, the vast majority of them in South Texas. Some militia and self-described "patriot" groups responded with a call to seal the border. Barbie Rogers, founder of the Patriots Information Hotline, said at last count there were 13 such teams on the Texas border. If they are each similar in size to the one that showed up in Mis- sion, that would be fewer than 100 people operating on the 1,255-mile Texas bor- der. Militias complicate situation on border IMMIGRATION By Alan Scher Zagier The Associated Press FERGUSON, MO. An un- armed teenager whose fa- tal shooting by police has sparked rancorous protests in suburban St. Louis suf- fered a bullet wound to his right arm that may indi- cate his hands were up or his back was turned, but "we don't know," a patholo- gist hired by the teen's fam- ily said Monday. An independent autopsy determined that 18-year- old Michael Brown was shot at least six times, in- cluding twice in the head, the family's lawyers and hired pathologists said. Witnesses said Brown's hands were above his head when he was repeatedly shot Aug. 9 in Ferguson, where the governor called in the National Guard early Monday after police again used tear gas to quell pro- testers. Forensic pathologist Shawn Parcells, who as- sisted former New York City chief medical exam- iner Dr. Michael Baden during the private au- topsy, said a bullet grazed Brown's right arm. He said the teen may have had his back to the shooter, or he could have been facing the shooter with his hands above his head or in a de- fensive position. "We don't know," Par- cells said. "We still have to look at the other (elements) of this investigation before we start piecing things to- gether." Brown's fatal shooting by a Ferguson police officer has heightened racial ten- sions between the predom- inantly black community and the mostly white police department. Another pro- test quickly deteriorated Sunday night as marchers pushed toward one end of a street, and authorities — who said they were re- sponding to reports of gun- fire, looting, vandalism and protesters who hurled Mo- lotov cocktails — pushed them back with tear gas. The streets were empty before a state-imposed midnight curfew, but hours later, Gov. Jay Nixon or- dered the National Guard to Ferguson. It was un- clear when the troops may arrive, but Nixon said they would be under the direc- tion of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which the governor has put in charge of overseeing the protests. "These violent acts are a disservice to the fam- ily of Michael Brown and his memory and to the people of this community who yearn for justice to be served and to feel safe in their own homes," Nixon said in a statement. Nixon lifted the neigh- borhood's midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew later Monday, two days after he declared a state of emergency. But police were asking protest- ers to keep moving Mon- day afternoon, saying they couldn't stay in one spot per an order from the High- way Patrol. Officers were seen urging people to avoid standing in one place, but they said it wasn't meant to disperse protesters. A grand jury could begin hearing evidence Wednes- day to determine whether the officer, Darren Wil- son, should be charged in Brown's death, but it's un- clear how long it may take, said Ed Magee, spokesman for St. Louis County's pros- ecuting attorney. Family attorney Benja- min Crump said Brown's parents wanted the addi- tional autopsy because they feared results of the coun- ty's examination could be biased. Crump declined to release copies of the re- port, and the county's au- topsy report has not been released. "They could not trust what was going to be put in the reports about the tragic execution of their child," he said during Monday's news conference with Parcells and Baden, who has testi- fied in several high-profile cases, including the O.J. Simpson murder trial. The second autopsy, Crump said, "verifies that the witness accounts were true: that he was shot mul- tiple times." Baden said one of the bullets entered the top of Brown's skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when he suffered that fa- tal injury. The patholo- gists said Brown, who also was shot four times in the right arm, could have survived the other bullet wounds. Baden also said there was no gun-power residue on Brown's body, indicat- ing he was not shot at close range. However, Baden said he did not have access to Brown's clothing, and that it was possible the residue could be on the clothing. Crump also noted that Brown had abrasions on his face from where he fell to the ground, but there was "otherwise no evidence of a struggle." POLICE SHOOTING 'Don't know' if Missouri teen shot with hands up JEFF ROBERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A protester holds up a sign as police try to keep protesters and media moving by not allowing anyone to congregate on Monday in Ferguson, Mo. By Jim Kuhnhenn The Associated Press WASHINGTON Calling for understanding in the face of racially charged anger, President Barack Obama said Monday that the vast majority of protesters in a St. Louis suburb were peaceful, but warned that a small minority was un- dermining justice for the unarmed black man shot and killed by police. During a brief pause in his summer vacation, Obama expressed sympa- thy for the "passions and anger" sparked by the death of 18-year-old Mi- chael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, but said giving in to that anger through looting and attacks on po- lice only stirs tensions and leads to further chaos. He said overcoming the mis- trust endemic between many communities and their local police would re- quire Americans to "listen and not just shout." "That's how we're go- ing to move forward to- gether, by trying to unite each other and understand each other and not simply divide ourselves from one another," Obama told re- porters at the White House. Obama said Attorney General Eric Holder would travel to Ferguson this week to meet with FBI and other officials carrying out an in- dependent federal investi- gation into Brown's death. He said he also had told Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon he wanted to ensure the use the National Guard in help calm tensions in Ferguson must be limited in scope, and said he would be moni- toring that operation in the coming days to see whether the guard's involvement was helping or hurting. Obama also weighed in for the first time publicly on the militarization of some local police departments, saying it probably would be useful to examine how fed- eral grant dollars had been used to allow local police to purchase military-style equipment, an issue that's come to the forefront amid the violent protests in Fer- guson. Obama said the dis- tinction between the mili- tary and domestic law en- forcement was one of the great things about Amer- ica. Appearing in the White House briefing room in a dress shirt but no tie, Obama also spoke for the first time to the racial ten- sions and grievances per- ceived by African-Ameri- cans in Ferguson. In pre- vious comments about the situation, Obama had avoided talking directly about race, wary of rush- ing to judgment or further inflaming the situation. Weighing his words carefully, Obama said it was clear that disparities in how blacks and whites are treated and sentenced must be addressed, calling for more safeguards and training to prevent mis- steps. At the same time, he acknowledged the difficult situation that police offi- cers sometimes face. "There are young black men that commit crime. We can argue about why that happened — because the poverty they were born into or the school systems that failed them or what have you— but if they com- mit a crime, then they need to be prosecuted," Obama said. "Because every com- munity has an interest in public safety." Obama's remarks on the crisis were the first since the situation in Ferguson escalated over the week- end, with Nixon, the Mis- souri governor, ordering a midnight curfew for Fer- guson and ordering the Na- tional Guard to help restore order. Nixon lifted that cur- few on Monday, but tensions remained high the morning after police once again de- ployed tear gas in response to what they said were re- ports of gunfire, looting and vandalism by protesters. The ongoing confronta- tion, with military-style ve- hicles rolling through sub- urban streets, has left cit- izens across the country wondering how such a war- like scene could play out in America's heartland. Shortly before speak- ing to reporters Monday, Obama received an update from top advisers including Holder and White House Counsel Neil Eggleston. Obama has asked the Jus- tice Department and FBI to investigate Brown's death, and Holder over the week- end ordered a federal med- ical examiner to perform a third autopsy on Brown. POLICE SHOOTING Obama on Ferguson: Time to listen, not just shout CHARLES DHARAPAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Barack Obama speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Monday. LicenseOH89548 LOWCOST INSURANCE 530-527-5151 • Low Down Payment • No License OK! • Suspended License OK! • SR-22 CHEAP • Si HABLA ESPANOL 750DavidAvenue,RedBluff•527-9193• www.tehamaestates.com SUMMERCOUPONSPECIAL findusonFacebook Tehama Estates The areas #1 Senior Housing Provider SeniorRetirementApartments Tehama Estates Provides: •3DeliciousHealthyMealsEachDay • Daily Housekeeping • 24 Hour Staffing, 365 Days of the Year • Utilities Included (except phone & cable) • Transportation • Fun Activities and Events • Starting at only $1600 per month $400 off Your Monthly Rental Rate For 6 Months * *leaserequired-newresidentsonly 22777AntelopeBlvd., RedBluff 30 Lb. Pork Pack 5lbs.PorkChops 5 lbs. Country Ribs 6 lbs. Pork Steaks 4 lbs. Shoulder Roast 4 lbs. 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