Federal Agents Who Fired on Migrant Boat Cleared

San Diego, CA — Federal agents acted properly when they opened fire on a skiff full of suspected undocumented immigrants off the coast of Solana Beach during an ocean pursuit that ended in a boat collision and a woman's drowning death, according to a government ruling released Thursday.

Despite the deadly outcome, the "application of force" on the part of the personnel with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine Operations last year was in compliance with official use-of-force policies, according to a summary of the decision posted online.

On the evening of June 17, 2015, federal authorities tracked the crowded fishing boat as it made its way north from Rosarito in Baja California, the document states. About 2 the following morning, the crew of a 35-foot CBP patrol boat intercepted the group about 10 miles from shore in northern San Diego County.

When the pilot of the skiff refused to yield, the federal personnel decided to employ "tactics designed to mitigate risk in inherently dangerous situations such as this one," according to the summary. Those measures consisted of discharging two warning shots into the air and then, when the gunfire failed to halt the fleeing suspects, shooting at the engine of the motorboat repeatedly in an attempt to disable it.

The person steering the skiff responded by making "evasive and erratic maneuvers," abruptly changing direction and speed, the report states. The lurching and swerving ultimately led to a collision between the two vessels, and the impact caused the skiff to overturn and dump all 20 of its occupants into the ocean.

The federal officers pulled the group out of the water, including an unconscious woman they found underneath the capsized boat. The personnel performed CPR on her and notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which sent a rescue helicopter. The air crew took the patient to a USCG facility in San Diego, where she was pronounced dead.

The county Medical Examiner determined the woman, whose name has not been released, drowned and that her death was an accident.

Eight other members of the migrant group were treated for various injuries at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside before being released to the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol.

In October, the CBP National Use of Force Review Board convened to review the facts of the case, including those provided by the Coast Guard. The panel determined that the gunfire on the part of the air-and-marine agents complied with CBP use-of-force regulations.

City News Service

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