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  • 2018-11-04 (xsd:date)
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  • Was a U.S. Border Patrol Officer Killed by Attackers Armed with Rocks? (en)
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  • On 1 November 2018, in response to reports of a violent clash between members of a Central American caravan and Mexican authorities that involved the throwing of rocks, President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. military troops along the U.S.-Mexican border would consider similar rock-throwing to be the equivalent of an attack with firearms: President Trump later walked back his comment, but some social media commenters sought to justify his initial suggestion. For example, one Facebook user posted a photograph of a U.S. Border Patrol Officer who was purportedly beaten to death with a rock: The Border Patrol Officer in question, Rogelio Martinez, died in November 2017 while on patrol with a partner. President Trump (among others) was quick to assert that Martinez had been killed by human agents: However, although the cause of Martinez's death has not yet been definitively determined, the evidence suggests that he died accidentally by falling down a culvert on a dark night, not from being attacked (as President Trump originally claimed) or deliberately killed with a thrown or wielded rock. A CBS News report on the incident described the circumstances of Martinez's death as follows: Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo, who was one of the first to respond to reports that Martinez and his partner were down, also told NPR that Martinez' death was likely an accident: The FBI's own investigation of Martinez's death found no evidence proving or indicating he had been murdered or attacked by human agents: When CBS News asked renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to review Martinez's autopsy, Dr. Baden noted that This is all very typical for a fall, and not for a fight. The exact cause of Rogelio Martinez's death may never be definitively determined, but the weight of evidence suggests his death was an accidental one, while little other than supposition supports the notion that he was killed by rock-wielding or rock-throwing attackers. (en)
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