His life was thrown in an uproar last week when he was detained by police and deported to Mexico.
Of course, it is unreasonable to think that a man would who spent 26 of his 42 years on earth in southern California raising five children is going to stay away. Mr. Hernandez and his brother made an effort last Friday to rejoin his wife.
It was a decision that cost him his life.
Hernandez (the Mexican newspapers are calling him Anastasio Hernández Rojas) didn't make it across the border. He was caught by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. CBP officers took him to the Border Patrol station gate leading to Mexico where they removed his handcuffs in preparation to complete the deportation to Tijuana. Police say that he became violent.
A short time later the man stopped breathing. Agents began CPR and called paramedics. He was brain-dead when they took him to Scripps Memorial in Chula Vista after the taser electrocution. He died on Monday, May 31.
The family of Mr. Hernandez is devastated. They are convinced the Border Patrol is lying. Witnesses, who said they saw the altercation Friday at San Ysidro, said agents also kicked Anastasio while he was on the ground ... which would explain why he became brain-dead. There may even be video evidence of the taser electrocution.
Please let us know if you have any new information on this taser-related killing.
5 comments:
Maybe the Mexican government can take a more active role in the investigation of how nationals are treated in the U.S., especially when their human rights are violated
Eddie - I imagine that the Mexican government will raise their voices if more of their citizens are killed by taser-happy border patrol cops. However, I have to admit that I sense that the story here is that Rojas was in USA as an illegal immigrant for over 20 years ... getting married ... raising five children. I hope that somebody finds a way to get their thoughts on what happened to their family over the past two months (since their father was deported).
There IS a video, it has just been released by a student who took it on his cell phone. The video isnt't very clear, but Anastasio's voice yelling for help, as well as people's voices asking the officers to stop, are very clear. The poor man was beaten to death.
This is the link to the video:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/video-reportedly-shows-border-patrol-confrontation-that-led-to-illegal-imigrants-death.html
Rocio - Thank you for the tip on the video. I've posted it last night on this blog for others that want to see it. This case continues to grow in importance because of the unique life story of Mr. Hernandez Rojas. I hope you'll come back and share any other updates or tips on this taser-death as you come across them...
All - The police have finally released the names of the federal agents that electrocuted Mr. Rojas to death with their taser guns.
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