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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Border Patrol Council Calls on CBP to Show Use of Force Data

September 26, 2013

Washington, D.C. The National Border Patrol Council condemned the decision by U.S.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to overhaul its basic training on the use of force andmandate the use of cameras in vehicles and on agents. The NBPCs concerns are myriad:

ranging from the privacy violations that cameras would incur, to the fact that Border Patrolagents already receive extensive training in the use of force, to the reality that the decision would

cost millions of dollars at a time when Border Patrol agents are lacking basic resources to secure

the border and a long-overdue pay reform package.

This is a knee-jerk reaction by CBP that will result in agents hesitating to use force to defend

themselves, resulting in more injured and murdered agents, said Shawn Moran, Vice President,National Border Patrol Council. Its wrong to place these men and women in even greater

danger than theyre already in to placate the demands of a few fringe organizations.

Instead of introducing new equipment and potentially restrictive policy changes, NBPC calledupon CBP to open its books and provide the real story regarding the actual number of use of

force incidents involving Border patrol agents and whether force was justified. NBPC believesCBP should provide transparency around the criminal histories of those who allege use of force

by Border Patrol agents, statistics regarding the number of assaults on Border Patrol agents, andthe blatant lack of prosecutions against those who assault them.

As it is today, Border Patrol agents receive extensive training in the use of force throughout their

careers, stretching from the Border Patrol Academy to quarterly qualifications with firearms,less-than-lethal devices, arrest techniques, and defensive tactics. Agents are trained to use the

minimum force necessary to make an arrest or to defend themselves from an assault. The use offorce by Border Patrol agents is almost universally predicated upon the decision by a smuggler

or criminal to assault a Border Patrol agent.

At a time when the Border Patrol cannot secure the border due to budgetary restraints, its

irresponsible to purchase and deploy millions of dollars worth of vehicle- and body-mountedcameras to prove that Border Patrol agents are doing their jobs correctly. All resources shouldbe directed towards ensuring that agents are deployed to defend our porous borders, said Moran.

Use of force incidents and allegations of excessive force are always investigated thoroughly by

the Border Patrol and CBP. It is not uncommon to have several components of CBP and otherfederal agencies, including the FBI, investigating these incidents and allegations. Nearly all are

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shown to be legitimate uses of force and in the case of an allegation made by a criminal suspect,deemed to be false.

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The National Border Patrol Council is a professional labor union representing more than 17,000Border Patrol Agents and support staff. The NBPC was founded in 1965, and is recognized as

one of the most effective labor organizations in the Federal sector.

For more information please contact Shawn Moran, Vice President at (855) 278-6466 ext. 806