I can see the meme now. Border Patrol agent shoots unarmed man. Define unarmed. I have said it before, if one narrows the perimeters of discussion enough anybody can come off looking good. Such as: “When it comes to building highways, Hitler was a pretty good guy.” The real world doesn’t work that way.
The article would seem to indicate that the agent’s response was disproportionate to the provocation. The guy was naked and only throwing rocks. Running around naked and entering into a confrontation could be taken as an indication that any de-escalation dialog is likely to fail. As to the rocks….
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
Throwing of rocks or stones is one of the most ancient forms of ranged-weapon combat, with slings used to increase the range of such projectiles having been found among other weapons in the tomb of Tutankhamen, who died about 1325 BC.[1] In many places, rocks are readily available as weapons, more so than more sophisticated weapons. Because rocks are dense, hard objects, a forcefully thrown rock can do substantial damage to a target, particularly if the rock has sharp or jagged edges.
Wikipedia
In Texas, a deadly weapon is defined by its use. A rock is just a rock, until somebody picks it up and uses it to throw at or beat another person. Then it becomes a deadly weapon. A skateboard is just a skateboard, until you beat somebody over the head with it.
I used to teach “officer survival.” I would ask the students: “How many times do you deal with a situation where a weapon is involved?” The class would typically answer sometimes or not that often. I would point out that 100% of the time every contact they made involved a firearm. They provided it. The vast majority of the time the people they dealt with allowed them to keep it.
Sure, Officer Chesna was shot to death, with his own gun. But that was only after he was struck by a suspect wielding a rock.
