Newly released video of a 16-year-old Mexican being killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in 2012 appears to show him lying facedown on the ground as he was shot multiple times.
At a U.S. District Court hearing on Monday in Tucson, Ariz., federal prosecutors showed portions of the video appearing to show Border Patrol Agent Lonnie Swartz fire 16 shots in three bursts through the border fence in Nogales, Ariz., at Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was on the Mexico side.
During the second and third volleys, the video showed that Elena Rodriguez was lying on the ground and not moving very much, according to the Arizona Republic. Swartz had been at the scene responding to a smuggling incident.
The video of the shooting, which has not been made public before was captured by a pair of cameras operated by the Border Patrol. According to the Arizona Republic, expert witness James Tavernetti described the video during the hearing. Tavernetti said he thought Elena Rodriguez could have been shot once in the back while standing up, but the rest of the shots hit him in the head, back and arms while he was lying on the ground.
Swartz has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in Elena Rodriguez’s death.
He has said he was prompted to shoot when people began throwing rocks at him from the other side of the border.
The Border Patrol agent’s trial is scheduled to begin in October. Defense attorneys have asked the judge not to allow the video to be shown at trial, arguing the video evidence is unreliable.
District Judge Raner Collins has not yet ruled on the request.
