Border agent acquitted in teen’s death sparks Tucson protest
The Latest on the acquittal of a Border Patrol agent in Mexican teen’s death:
Scores of people protested in Tucson after a jury in Arizona acquitted a Border Patrol agent of manslaughter in the cross-border shooting death of a Mexican teen six years ago, shutting down an intersection.
One sign protesters carried says, “Abolish Border Patrol.” Another reads “No justice, no peace.”
Jurors found Lonnie Swartz not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday. It was his second trial after another jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and deadlocked on the manslaughter charge earlier this year.
Swartz said he was defending himself and other officers from rock-throwers when he shot at 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez through a fence. Prosecutors said he lost his temper when he fired.
