Family Of Slain Border Agent Brian Terry Sues U.S. Government...

[paulitician]

Today, the parents of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). The lawsuit seeks $25 million dollars in compensation for Terry’s death.

Terry was gunned down Dec. 14, 2010 in Arizona near the Mexico border, in an attack by illegal aliens armed with AK-47-type rifles. The rifles were part of ATF's then secret operation Fast and Furious, which allowed thousands of weapons to cross the border into Mexico in an attempt to lead to the "big fish" of a Mexican drug cartel. The controversial practice is called "gunwalking."

Terry's murder led some ATF agents who objected to their own agency's gunwalking, to blow the whistle to Congress and CBS News. Since then, the Justice Department has acknowledged gunwalking occurred; banned it in the future; and asked the Inspector General to investigate.

Terry's parents are also suing an Arizona gun store that cooperated with ATF in Fast and Furious by agreeing to sell weapons to suspicious buyers that would otherwise have been turned away. Several gun store owners who worked with ATF in gunwalking operations expressed concern over the tactics, but told Congressional investigators they felt forced to go along with the plan because ATF regulates the gun shops.

Family of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry sues U.S. government - CBS News Investigates - CBS News
Family of slain border agent Brian Terry sues US government | The Daily Caller

 

[waltky]

Agent on the street can't trust the higher-ups...

Internal memo shows ATF rank and file don't trust the brass
March 26, 2012 | Top leaders at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, already under fire from lawmakers in the wake of the “Fast and Furious” debacle, also get harsh marks from the men and women who serve under them, according to an internal survey.

An ATF memo obtained by FoxNews.com reveals that rank-and-file workers at the beleaguered federal agency, where whistleblowers who first alerted lawmakers to the “gun-walking” scandal say they were threatened or even punished, don’t trust the agency’s leaders. “A key area in which ATF fell short was leadership,” the e-mail from ATF Headquarters, describing the results of the internal survey, reads. “Most troubling were responses to the question – ‘My senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity.’”

Just 44 percent of ATF employees said that their leaders maintained such standards last year, according to the Partnership for Public Service, the non-profit that administers the annual survey to government employees. On “leadership effectiveness” in general, ATF scored a 40.5, placing the agency nearly last among government agencies, at 215th out of 228 agencies surveyed. That rating was the first since the "Fast and Furious" scandal broke, and it is down 10 percentage points from the year before. Asked by FoxNews.com about the survey, ATF spokesman Drew Wade acknowledged the Fast and Furious scandal has taken a toll on morale.

"The controversies plaguing ATF over the last year have weighed heavily on the morale of employees and their faith in senior leadership," Wade said. "Mistakes were made." But he said ATF leadership is working hard to change. “Acting Director [B. Todd] Jones has put new leaders in place in new positions to enhance the quality of leadership and take ATF in the right direction. The new leadership team is working hard to earn [the] trust again of employees," Wade said.

Vince Cefalu, an agent who helped expose the “Fast and Furious” scandal, said it is "too soon to tell" whether ATF will turn things around. For now, he says, the survey results don’t surprise him. “Guess I and [the other whistleblowers] weren’t the only disgruntled malcontents, were we?” he said, sarcastically referring to what he believes were attempts to marginalize him and others who came forward. Cefalu says his own situation is a case study in ATF dishonesty. The ATF attempted to fire Cefalu last year, after the “Fast and Furious” scandal broke, but so far has been unable to do so because Cefalu has accused them in court of retaliating against a whistleblower. Now, he said, he is given no assignments. “I am sitting in Lake Tahoe drawing $150,000 [a year from ATF] to do absolutely nothing,” he said.

Read more: Internal Memo Shows ATF Rank And File Don't Trust The Brass | Fox News

 

[waltky]

Granny says dem politicians is always tryin' to cover dey's butts...

Family of Slain Border Agent: 'Administration Seems More Concerned With Protecting Themselves Than Revealing the Truth’
June 21, 2012 – The family of slain U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry strongly criticized President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder for withholding information about Operation Fast and Furious, the botched gun-walking program that allowed thousands of guns to end up in the hands of drug cartels; two of the weapons were found at the crime scene where agent Terry was killed in December 2010.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Terry family said, “Our son lost his life protecting this nation, and it is very disappointing that we are now faced with an administration that seems more concerned with protecting themselves rather than revealing the truth behind Operation of Fast and Furious.” At Thursday’s White House press briefing, spokesman Jay Carney was asked about the Terry family’s comments that the Obama administration is compounding the tragedy by denying them and the American people the truth. “Look, we absolutely agree with the need to find out the truth about why Fast and Furious happened, why the tactic that, again, was employed in the previous administration in different operations and was stopped by this Attorney General -- why it came about,” Carney said. “And that’s why the Attorney General referred it to the (Justice Department’s) Inspector General. That is why we have provided Congress every document that pertains to the operation itself that is at issue here when you talk about the family that you referred to.

And -- “The Terry family,” the reporter reminded Carney. “The Terry family,” Carney said. “And that is separate from an attempt by members of Congress, Republican members of Congress, to try to score political points -- as Senator Grassley referred to his desire for a ‘political scalp’ -- that is separate from trying to find out the truth about what happened in this operation, which this administration has been pursuing since the attorney general discovered it.”

Operation Fast and Furious, a Justice Department program, began in September 2009 and allowed nearly 2,000 guns to flow into Mexico with the intent of tracking the guns to drug cartel leaders. The operation was halted when two of the guns in the operation were found at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. After nearly a full day of debate by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on holding Holder in contempt of Congress, the committee made the Terry family’s statement a part of the congressional record. Before the hearing, President Barack Obama invoked executive privilege to protect some Fast and Furious documents from being released.

The Terry family attorney Pat McGroder issued a statement to the media regarding the Obama administration’s actions. “Attorney General Eric Holder’s refusal to fully disclose the documents associated with Operation Fast and Furious and President Obama’s assertion of executive privilege serves to compound the tragedy,” the statement said. “It denied the Terry family and the American people the truth. Our son, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, was killed by members of a Mexican drug cartel armed with weapons from this failed Justice Department gun trafficking investigation.” “For more than 18 months we have been asking our federal government for justice and accountability,” the Terry family statement continued. “The documents sought by the House Oversight Committee and associated with Operation Fast and Furious should be produced and turned over to the committee. Our son lost his life protecting this nation, and it is very disappointing that we are now faced with an administration that seems more concerned with protecting themselves rather than revealing the truth behind Operation of Fast and Furious.”

Source

 

[Ravi]

I don't see how they have a chance of winning. Lots of people get killed in dangerous, and non-dangerous, jobs because of bad operations on the government's part. Take 911 for example.....

 

[Sallow]

If the guy wasn't aware of the risks..he shouldn't have taken the job.

In any case..it's going to be a hard case to prove.

 

[California Girl]

I don't see how they have a chance of winning. Lots of people get killed in dangerous, and non-dangerous, jobs because of bad operations on the government's part. Take 911 for example.....

Who died on 911 because of US Government supplied weapons?

 

[Sallow]

Suing the gun store as well?

 

[Sallow]

I don't see how they have a chance of winning. Lots of people get killed in dangerous, and non-dangerous, jobs because of bad operations on the government's part. Take 911 for example.....

Who died on 911 because of US Government supplied weapons?

Everyone.

 

[Mad Scientist]

I don't see how they have a chance of winning. Lots of people get killed in dangerous, and non-dangerous, jobs because of bad operations on the government's part. Take 911 for example.....

Did you know that Janet Napalitano took the border patrols bullets away and made them use bean bags?
AK47s vs. bean bags in border drug wars - CBS News

Why would the gov't do that? Oh you suppose it's because they want the other side to "win"? Naw, couldn't be! We're the good guys!

Derp!

 

[paulitician]

I don't see how they have a chance of winning. Lots of people get killed in dangerous, and non-dangerous, jobs because of bad operations on the government's part. Take 911 for example.....

Another gem from Ravi the Raving Lunatic.

 

[Neotrotsky]

Today, the parents of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). The lawsuit seeks $25 million dollars in compensation for Terry’s death.

Terry was gunned down Dec. 14, 2010 in Arizona near the Mexico border, in an attack by illegal aliens armed with AK-47-type rifles. The rifles were part of ATF's then secret operation Fast and Furious, which allowed thousands of weapons to cross the border into Mexico in an attempt to lead to the "big fish" of a Mexican drug cartel. The controversial practice is called "gunwalking."

Terry's murder led some ATF agents who objected to their own agency's gunwalking, to blow the whistle to Congress and CBS News. Since then, the Justice Department has acknowledged gunwalking occurred; banned it in the future; and asked the Inspector General to investigate.

Terry's parents are also suing an Arizona gun store that cooperated with ATF in Fast and Furious by agreeing to sell weapons to suspicious buyers that would otherwise have been turned away. Several gun store owners who worked with ATF in gunwalking operations expressed concern over the tactics, but told Congressional investigators they felt forced to go along with the plan because ATF regulates the gun shops.

Family of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry sues U.S. government - CBS News Investigates - CBS News
Family of slain border agent Brian Terry sues US government | The Daily Caller

It really is a shame how this administration
ignores this poor family '

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says indictin' `em is one thing - catchin' `em is another...

Brian Terry Family Applauds Indictment of Mexican Suspects, But Still Seeks Answers From DOJ
July 10, 2012 – The family of the Border Patrol agent whose murder is central to the Fast and Furious scandal is praising the Justice Department’s indictment of five individuals implicated in the murder, but it also wants more information from DOJ.

“It has been a difficult 18 months for the family since Brian Terry was murdered in December of 2010, and today’s announcement provides hope that justice will eventually be served,” said Robert Heyer, chairman of the Brian Terry Foundation and cousin to Brian Terry, in a statement. The family specifically thanked U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy for the Southern District of California for efforts to make the indictments public on Monday. In a press release, the Justice Department also announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of the Mexican suspects.

Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza are charged with crimes including first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. A sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, is charged only with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. A $1 million FBI reward was also announced for information leading to the capture of the suspects.

The 11-count, third superseding indictment, which was handed up by a federal grand jury in Arizona on Nov. 7, 2011, alleges that on Dec. 14, 2010, five of the defendants engaged in a firefight with Border Patrol agents. During the exchange of gunfire, Agent Terry was shot and killed. The indictment alleges that the defendants had illegally entered the United States from Mexico for the purpose of robbing drug traffickers of their contraband.

“The Terry family would like to thank U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and her team of prosecutors along with the special agents of the FBI’s Tucson Office and the Mexico City Legal Attaché who have continued to pursue leads in the murder case that ultimately led to the additional indictments of the four fugitive defendants. The Terry family would also like to thank the government of Mexico for their assistance in the investigation. It is the family’s hope that the unsealing of details in the case, the identification of the four fugitives and the issuance of reward monies will lead to the eventual capture of all individuals responsible for the murder of Agent Terry.”

MORE

See also:

In border agent Brian Terry’s death, $1 million reward offered to capture suspects
9 July`12 - The FBI has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives charged in the killing of a border agent.

The FBI offered a $1 million reward Monday for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives charged in the killing of a border agent whose death is at the center of a Washington showdown over a botched gun-tracking operation. The announcement came as the Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging the four men — along with a suspect who is in custody — in the killing of the agent, Brian Terry, who was shot while on patrol in an Arizona canyon in December 2010.

The indictment did not mention “Fast and Furious,” the controversial anti-gun-trafficking operation run by the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. But it was Terry’s death that led to a congressional investigation of the operation and, more recently, a vote in the House to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress. During the two-year operation, ATF agents watched as hundreds of weapons were purchased by gun-trafficking suspects.

Some agents testified that they were ordered to let the guns “walk” so the agency could trace the weapons to a firearms-trafficking ring. Several of their supervisors have said that they never allowed gun-walking but were told by the U.S. attorney’s office in Phoenix that they did not have enough evidence to seize the guns.

About 2,000 guns linked to the suspects hit the streets in the United States and Mexico. Two guns tied to the operation were found at the scene of Terry’s death. In the indictment unsealed Monday and handed up in Tucson, the five charged were identified as Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portiollo-Meza. Osorio-Arellanes was arrested the night of the shooting, but the other four remain at large.

Authorities say the suspects entered the United States illegally from Mexico for the purpose of robbing drug traffickers. The bullet that killed Terry, 40, was so damaged that the FBI was unable to definitively link either of the two firearms found at the scene to his death, according to a law enforcement official involved in the investigation.

But lawmakers tied Terry’s death to the botched Phoenix gun operation after it was discovered that the serial numbers on the semiautomatic rifles matched guns bought by a suspect charged in the Fast and Furious case, Jaime Avila. Law enforcement officials say that ATF never actually “watched” those particular guns being bought and could never have seized them. They say that an employee of the store where those firearms were bought did not notify ATF until after the guns were purchased and were in the trafficking pipeline.

MORE

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Today, the parents of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). The lawsuit seeks $25 million dollars in compensation for Terry’s death.

7/09/12

Five Indicted In Killing Of Terry​