By Police1 Staff
The case of an illegal immigrant who died after Border Patrol agents tried deport him is the subject of a PBS documentary that aired Friday.
New footage aired in the “Need to Know” segment shows a group of agents stand over, kick and stun Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, 42, who was arrested in May 2010 when he was caught sneaking with his brother from Mexico into San Diego, where he had lived for more than 10 years, The New York Daily News reported.
Agents used a TASER on Rojas, who authorities said became combative during the arrest and eventually stopped breathing. He was resuscitated but later died at a hospital.
No agents were charged after a U.S. attorney overseeing the case said Rojas — found to have methamphetamine in his sytem — displayed “assaultive, violent and out-of-control conduct,” according to Reuters.
His family says the video supports their claim agents used excessive force, which was the subject of a lawsuit filed in January 2011. Rojas’ family say they are “still fighting to get simple discovery” in a death ruled a homicide by the San Diego Police Department and the medical examiner’s office.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigation is ongoing.
“We do not tolerate abuse within our ranks, and we fully cooperate with any criminal or administrative investigations of alleged misconduct by any of our personnel, on or off duty,” the agency said in a statement.