Border D.A. Asks for Halt to 'Rain of Death'

"The Hidalgo County district attorney has asked the Texas Department of Public safety to temporarily suspend its practice of using airborne sharpshooters to disable vehicles suspected of criminal activity.  Last week, two immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally were killed by a state trooper in La Joya, near the Mexican border, when the agent opened fire on a pickup that fled from police.  The truck was thought to be carrying a drug load but was instead packed with Guatemalan immigrants, officials said.  “I've asked DPS through the [Texas] Rangers to talk to the higher-ups about no more helicopter shootings until they review their procedures and policies,” Hidalgo County District Attorney René Guerra said.  “And right now I'd ask that anytime deadly force be used again, would be in a case of life or death, because of the international repercussions.”  DPS did not immediately respond for comment Wednesday afternoon.  Two Guatemalan immigrants died Thursday when an agent in a DPS helicopter tried to disable the vehicle that the agency said was a danger and moving at high speeds after a Texas Parks and Wildlife officer tried to pull it over." - Jason Buch, San Antonio Express-News, Oct. 31, 2012.